India’s poor catching, captaincy under scanner after T20 World Cup exit

But as curtains came down on a miserable, confused campaign, questions are becoming shriller. Was it just about one bad game (loss to New Zealand)? Did India underperform? Or, has Harmanpreet’s leadership plateaued? For long, things have been swept aside but this was the right time for India to up their stature and it’s clear any mollycoddling now will only harm the Indian women team’s progress.

Like it did when losing the Asia Cup final to Sri Lanka three months ago elicited no real post mortem though it exposed the fielding and catching, overall fitness, running between the wickets and how Harman’s captaincy and game sense wilted under pressure in the tense last phase of that game.

Other than doing well for her franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) in the two editions of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the 35-year-old Harmanpreet hasn’t been consistent in all formats for India since her 115-ball 171 versus Australia in the 2017 ODI World Cup. She has captained India in T20s since 2016, taking over the ODI and Test jobs after Mithali Raj retired in 2021.