Harmanpreet Kaur Leads India Into A New Age As She Emerges From The Shadows Cast By His Legendary Ancestors

An age in which Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, who had been ever-present in at least one format up to the One-Day International World Cup held in New Zealand this year, are no longer a towering presence in the game.

Raj and Goswami have been named are inseparable from Indian women’s cricket for the better part of the past two decades, and they have been instrumental in many of the sport’s defining moments, including India’s historic Test victory in South Africa in 2002, India’s finish as runners-up at the 2005 World Cup, India’s victories over England in Tests at Taunton (2006) and Wormsley (2014), and India’s first-ever series victory (in Twenty20 Internationals) in Australia.

It seems unreal to see India competing in a major tournament without Raj and Goswami as active players on the team. The two long-serving teammates and friends were guiding lights during stormy times, and their soothing presence was crucial as India experienced losses like the elimination from their home World Cups in 2013 and 2016, as well as the heartbreaking defeat in the Lord’s final of 2017.

Goswami stopped playing Twenty20 Internationals in 2018, and Raj did the same in 2019, but as long as they were still playing One-Day Internationals, the impact of their presence was felt in all three forms. In the instance of Raj, the fact that she captained the ODI team meant that she maintained a significant level of influence over the other players.

Therefore, even though Harmanpreet Kaur managed her Twenty20 International squad in a certain manner, one may get the impression that it wasn’t always her team. It was almost as if Ajinkya Rahane had taken over as captain of India’s Test squad while Virat Kohli was taking a break from the game. At that particular time, Rahane was leading the squad, but Kohli had always been in charge.

Both Raj and Harmanpreet were leaders, but they led their teams in quite different ways. Thus they often found themselves in a position where they needed to strike a compromise. Harmanpreet tends to choose the aggressive option, often fielding five bowlers and an allrounder, as opposed to Raj, who often opted for a safety-first strategy by opting to play an additional batter. This was a luxury that Raj didn’t have for a significant portion of her career.

The key to Raj’s success as a hitter was consistent accumulation, whereas Harmanpreet’s strength lies in her bristling energy. To say that Shafali Verma’s power-hitting at the top had been a breath of new air on the T20I side would be an understatement. However, it wasn’t until the going got tough that India, captained by Raj, ultimately gave Shafali Verma her ODI debut.

The slogan that Harmanpreet lives by is quite different; she encourages both herself and her squad to play aggressively. She has made an effort to get more out of her players by, for instance, urging Richa Ghosh and Yastika Bhatia to maintain wicket for the side so that they may play an additional batter or bowler according to the circumstances of the game.

In her first press conference after being named full-time ODI skipper, Harmanpreet claimed that she finally felt like this was now her squad. This press conference took place before the trip to Sri Lanka in June of this year.

“When there were two different captains there, sometimes things were not easy because Raj and I both had different views,” she added. “When there were two different captains there, sometimes things were not easy.” “It is now quite simple for me to inquire of them (the players) what it is that I anticipate from them. 

Harmanpreet, who is 33 years old and has just overcome a slump in her performance, is at the pinnacle of her abilities. She has a level-headed and experienced vice-captain in Smriti Mandhana, who not only excels as a batter but also serves as an example for up-and-coming cricket players.

Even though she did not participate in the 2022 World Cup, Jemimah Rodrigues is well positioned to succeed Raj as the lynchpin of the middle order in all forms of the game. Rodrigues has turned her career around after having periods in The Hundred and the WBBL, and she is now in good shape as a result of this.

Harmanpreet admires and supports Bhatia as a player because of the high level of energy that is brought to the game as a free-stroking batter. After the two worked together in Vadodara while Hardik was healing from his back injury at the end of last year, she credited Hardik Pandya for assisting her in the development of a power game. This took place while Hardik was in Vadodara. Because of this transformation in strategy.

However, India still has a lot of work to do with the ball before they can be considered a formidable competitor in the Commonwealth Games. Poonam Yadav, who spins with her legs, is not as formidable as she was two years ago. Poonam seems to have been passed up in favor of Sneh Rana, who has shown herself to be an all-rounder in both of the white-ball forms of cricket. This decision reflects India’s shift toward players with several skills.

While India has found numerous players who have the potential to fill the vacuum left by Raj, finding someone to take Goswami’s position has proven to be more difficult. Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, and Pooja Vastrakar are three young seamers who are on the rise in India’s women’s the latest cricket news; nevertheless, their lack of experience was readily apparent in the team’s last World Cup group match against South Africa. While an injured Goswami sat downcast on the bench, India was eliminated from the competition after losing that game and being knocked out of the tournament.

Following the retirement of Raj-Goswami, India’s first official step into the new era was a tour to Sri Lanka, which took place before the Commonwealth Games. However, both icons may still play significant roles in the development of Indian women’s cricket in the future. One gets the impression that the national team has finally moved on.

The squad captained by Harmanpreet has arrived in Birmingham in preparation for the first-ever women’s cricket competition at the Commonwealth Games. Establishing a new era in Indian cricket with the help of a medal would be the ideal way to do it.

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