The BCCI on Thursday announced the Indian women’s cricket team for the ICC ODI World Cup starting in New Zealand in the first week of March and the limited-overs series against the hosts ahead of the big event.
It was not the title for the first time to include the names of the World Cup players, but it was they who were unable to make the cut.
The exclusions were clearly identified – Jemima Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey. However it is rare that an exclusion is identified in a women’s team. It may also indicate that the game has gained popularity and those that have been missed are now easily identifiable. Good news for the women’s sport.
But it hasn’t been an ideal start to the new year for the two Indian players. Shikha Pandey has been around since 2014 and she saw the wave that allowed the game to grow. Sharing the new ball with Jhulan Goswami during his career, he has also played as a lone seamer in T20 Internationals for India.
He was overlooked by the newly appointed selectors in the home series against South Africa in early 2021. The series allowed Shikha to find a seat on the tours of England and Australia after being won by the touring team. It was never going to be easy for him to grab a spot in the playing XI especially in the 50-over format.
Shikha was recognized as an all-rounder when she entered the domestic screen. But she has barely done justice to that talent. With players starting to get the right mix for the Indian team, Shikha had an opportunity to grab pole position with Jhulan Goswami. Here again a slip now an uphill climb for an Indian Air Force employee.
Read also: Poonam Raut expresses disappointment after 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup snub
Then there is the curious case of Jemima Rodrigues.
A player who continues to grab attention with his talent on and off the field finds himself in a strange scenario after being dropped from the Indian World Cup squad, a team he has been a part of since February-March 2018.
A young Mumbai-based player who scored over 1,000 runs in a single season of Under-19 cricket with a double century to her name, Jemima promised a promising future. In the 21 matches he has played for India, he has batted in the top three batting positions. Along the way, she developed her game to suit the style of T20 playing as she has been a regular for India there as well.
He has been shuffled up and down the batting order and between formats. While he made his mark in the T20 league, giving consistency while wearing the India cap left much to be desired.
Keeping her talent in perspective, expectations continued to rise along with competition within the youth group. After losing her spot in the India XI in ODIs, and T20s being a saving grace, she continues to identify the batting position that best suits her.
It becomes very important for the people handling the team to take care of the nature of the players. I think Jemimah should have been given a chance to stake her claim to the World Cup squad.
The four-team Women’s Challenger tournament took place in early December, and only Radha Yadav was given the chance to participate in the Women’s Big Bash League. Fresh from his stint in the WBBL in Australia, Radha impressed with his all-rounder game.
Sabbhineni Meghna, who made India’s debut in T20Is in 2016, showed top form as an opener and was selected as a standby for the tours. Simran Bahadur’s outing with Renuka Singh was also impressive, and his names also figure in the selected 18.
If the selectors had a plan, Jemima Rodrigues should have also been offered an olive branch to stake her claim through the tournament. On a good batting track and with international experience, I am sure he must have influenced the decision makers.
The previous tour of Australia in 2021 was good for the Indian team and the players more or less selected themselves for the tour of New Zealand and the upcoming World Cup. Not many have played in New Zealand before, and the venue of the series is different from the World Cup ones. At least, an outing in Kiwi land before the mega event should serve the Indian team well.
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