India's 3 most important players for 2024 Women's Asia Cup ft. Smriti Mandhana
The 2024 Women's Asia Cup (T20) is set to kick off on July 19 in Sri Lanka. Eight teams - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, Malaysia, and Thailand will compete in the tournament.
Having won the previous edition, India are the defending champions and will once again start as favorites to defend their title. Coming off their recently concluded multi-format series against South Africa, the Indian team looks in good shape and will be brimming with confidence ahead of the multi-nation tournament.
This is only the fifth time the Women's Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format, serving as a preparatory ground for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup later this year.
Harmanpreet Kaur will lead India with Smriti Mandhana serving as her deputy. The squad has a good mix of experience and youth, along with some faces who could potentially be the future of the Indian women's cricket team.
Building up the 2024 Women's Asia Cup, here is a look at three players who could particularly hold the key to India's performance.
India's 3 most important players for 2024 Women's Asia Cup
#3 Pooja Vastrakar
In the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa women, Pooja Vastrakar displayed stellar form with the ball. She accounted for eight wickets from three innings at an average of 9.12.
Having lost the first game with the second one being washed out, the onus was on India to win the final T20I and level the series. Pooja played a vital role in a must-win game, picking up four wickets in the final T20I as India came out victorious by 10 wickets in the end.
Given her ability to score some crucial runs with the bat as well, her all-round skills could prove to be valuable for the Women in Blue. Pooja is likely to lead the pace attack alongside Renuka Singh.
#2 Jemimah Rodrigues
Jemimah Rodrigues will be another key player for India at the 2024 Women's Asia Cup.
In the T20I series against South Africa, Jemimah got the opportunity to bat just once but impressed nonetheless. She scored an unbeaten 30-ball 53, striking at 176.66 under pressure as India were chasing a target of 190 runs. Jemimah almost took the hosts over the line but lack of support from the other batters meant that South Africa won the game by a close margin of 12 runs.
Rodrigues, with 217 runs in the previous edition, top-scored and will be eager to replicate her performance this time around.
#1 Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana has been in terrific form heading into the tournament. She was one of the batting mainstays for India in the entire series against South Africa, delivering in all formats. The Indian vice-captain scored a magnificent 149 in the only Test, followed by a whopping 343 runs in the ODI series, which also included a couple of hundreds.
The T20I series saw her score 100 runs from two innings, including a 46 in the first game and an unbeaten 54 in the third. If Smriti can carry forward her excellent form in the 2024 Women's Asia Cup, it could massively boost India's chances of defending their title.