Amol Mazumdar raises doubts over Harmanpreet Kaur's form before the vital semifinal

Amol Muzumdar, a former domestic cricketer, seasoned coach, and game specialist, offered his thoughts on the Indian Women’s team’s substandard middle order after the side qualified for the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World 2023 for the third time in a row. The Women in Blue have done well in the group stages, while their middle-order weaknesses were exposed in their match against England. Apart from the two early jolts, India failed to pick up any wickets in their final group-stage encounter against Ireland. If it hadn’t been for opener Smriti Mandhana’s stunning 87, the DLS technique might not have favoured India by five runs, allowing them to finish in the top two on the points table.

First and foremost, the former right-handed batter applauded team India and praised their good attitude and approach throughout the group stage. He singled out Mandhana, saying that the 26-year-old opener was the key to India’s ability to compile intimidating totals against opponents. He did, however, take the opportunity to convey his reservations about the Indian captain. Harmanpreet Kaur completed 3000 T20I runs during the match against Ireland, although she is yet to express herself with the bat. Let alone scoring, the 33-year-old has made her mode of dismissal exceedingly weak, which was the main source of concern for Muzumdar.

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Harman’s strike rate is the lowest

“It is a great achievement. If Smriti Mandhana is going through this form, it is important for Harmanpreet Kaur to fire. I feel there is a slight issue in the middle order as I am a little concerned with the way Harmanpreet Kaur is getting out,” the 48-year-old said while speaking to Star Sports. “She played a wrong shot against the West Indies. She lost her patience against England. I wanted to see how Harmanpreet plays against Sophie Ecclestone and today also she got out in a similar fashion. She got out at the wrong time. “I believe Harmanpreet Kaur should take a little time. She needs to improve her shot selection, she has the experience. It doesn’t mean that she will perform as experience and performance are two different things. Along with experience, you also get responsibility on your shoulders,” he added.

Harman’s strike rate is the lowest for a player who has played more than one game for India batters.