ICC Women's World Cup: SWOT Analysis of the Indian team

With hopes and expectations of millions of cricket crazy fans, the Indian Women’s Cricket team has embarked on a very special journey to England with a sole mission; winning the first ever ICC World Cup.

After a dismal performance at home in the T-20 World Cup, the team returned strongly with some dominant display against the mighty West Indies in the home series that followed. They continued to perform consistently well on the international circuit and are currently enduring a dream run by winning the World Cup Qualifiers and the recently concluded Quadrangular series in South Africa.

With an opportunity to create a revolution back home by winning the trophy, the Mithali Raj-led outfit enters the tournament as one of the firm favourites. The team will start their campaign in the eleventh edition of the tournament against the hosts in the inaugural match of the competition at Derby.

Here is the detailed analysis of the Indian team for this iconic tournament:

Strength – The formidable batting unit

Smriti Mandhana is back in the squad for the World Cup

In the opening batters, Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut, the team has a solid combination at the top of the order. The duo hold the record for the highest partnership in the history of the game. They achieved this rare feat in a league match against Ireland in the Quadrangular series last month.

The team is also bolstered by the inclusion of Smriti Mandhana in the 15 member squad for the tournament as the southpaw was one the most prolific performers for the team last season. The 20-year-old missed most of the matches earlier this year due to an injury she picked up in the Women’s Big Bash League.

However, she has recovered completely and is expected to play a crucial role for the team in the upcoming tournament.

With Mithali Raj at the helm, the middle order looks formidable with thousands of runs and experience under her belt. Along with Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy, the batting line up looks devastating and will instill fear in most of the oppositions.

Weakness – Death Bowling

Jhulan Goswami will lead the bowling unit of the team

The bowling unit is a weak link for the team coming into the tournament. With conditions conducive for swing bowling, the management of the side has backed their strength and picked up three quality spinners in the squad.

The team selection for this prestigious tournament does seem to be baffling as it consists of only three genuine medium pacers in Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey and Mansi Joshi in the squad. An unfortunate injury or dip in the form for any one of the players can severely damage the fortunes of the side going into the last leg of the tournament.

Looking at the composition of the side, Shikha Pandey will partner Jhulan Goswami to open the bowling, followed by the spin trio of the team, shouldering the responsibilities of the middle overs.

The bowling unit lacks options at the back end of the innings as barring Goswami, the bowlers are not experienced in handling pressure situations. With just two medium pacers in the playing XI, the team can suffer if any one of them have a bad day at work.

Opportunity – Young and Athletic fielding unit

The youngsters in the squad will provide the team with some brilliance on the field

With plenty of youngsters in the squad, the Indian team will be banking on their athletic abilities to provide them with some exuberant display on the field.

The young players are known to be outstanding fielders, and with the long dimensions of the ground on offer in England, their swiftness to cover the ground and cut down on the fielding angles will be the key.

The management will also be hoping that the half chances are converted by the team to dent the scoring rate of the opposition.

Threat – Lack of big match exposure

The players in the squad lack exposure to major tournaments

Although the team looks solid on paper, there will be one area of concern for the management and the captain; the absence of big match temperament. The squad has been together for the last few series, but the pressure of competing on the world stage in a high voltage competition can get the better of the players and result in downfall of the team.

Barring a few of them who featured in the last edition of the competition, there are plenty of fresh faces in the squad who will be playing in their first ever World Cup tournament. The inexperience in the squad can hamper the fortunes of the team as the matches are expected to go all the way down to the wire.

The tournament will the provide an ultimate test of nerves and determination to this young Indian squad, gunning for their first World Cup title.