Best playing 11 of Indian women’s cricket team at Asian Games 2023
A few eyebrows were raised when Team India's squad was announced for the women's cricket event at the Asian Games 2023. While the likes of Richa Ghosh returned to the squad, fans were shocked to see Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana in the reserves.
While the debate will continue about the balance of the squad, Team India will know that they have to do better than what they did against Bangladesh in the recent T20Is. Although they won the series 2-1, there were flaws across all three departments and the Women in Blue would certainly like to address that.
On that note, let's take a look at the strongest possible XI that could potentially help India bag their first gold medal in women's cricket at the Asian Games:
Openers: Smriti Mandhana & Shafali Verma
India's opening combination seems set with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma likely to walk out to bat together. Mandhana has been a class batter and Verma's destructive ability is a secret to none.
However, inconsistency has been one factor that has affected the duo of late. Shafali, in particular, has been criticized for her failures in Bangladesh and will need to step up and give her team those consistent starts alongside Mandhana.
Middle-order: Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur
There is a lot of experience in the middle-order with Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur being the fulcrum. However, they will need support from the explosive Richa Ghosh, who has a point to prove after making a comeback in the squad.
Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur are the all-rounders who will be handed the task of finishing the innings well. Amanjot won the Player of the Match award on her T20I debut against South Africa and has shown her prowess with the bat. Deepti's finishing ability has been under the scanner and she would definitely like to be more consistent as a batter.
Bowlers: Devika Vaidya, Minnu Mani, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Spin will be India's strength and they would like to keep all the variety of options available. Devika Vaidya and Minnu Mani were both impressive in Bangladesh, with the latter picking up five wickets in three games. They can also contribute with the bat which deepens the Indian batting further.
Anjali Sarvani could be the left-arm pace option that the Women in Blue can use with the new ball and the experience of left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad gives them the ability to cover all bases in their bowling.