Leg and Off: Are India women over-dependent on Harmanpreet Kaur?
Team India women's team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur ended up playing a lone hand in a World Cup encounter against Australia yet again. The right-hander scored an unbeaten 54 runs off 47 deliveries in the Group A contest in Sharjah on Sunday, October 13.
Harmanpreet was left stranded at one end as the rest of the batters failed to make an impact and reduce the required rate. The top-order collapsed in quick succession while the rest of the middle order also failed to be the support that the skipper needed from the other end.
A similar situation arose in the semi-finals of the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup, when India were reduced to 28/3, and the hopes were pinned on Harmanpreet Kaur. The captain scored a fifty on that occasion as well, but India ended up short by five runs.
The recent loss to Australia, which dents their World Cup semi-final aspirations, led Harmanpreet Kaur to remark that the team is perhaps too dependent on select players, one of them being herself.
"I think their entire team contributes, they don't depend on one or two players, they have a lot of all-rounders who contribute. We also planned well and we were there in the game. They didn't give away easy runs and made it difficult. They are an experienced side," Harmanpreet Kaur said during the post-match presentation.
On that note, let us take a look at whether there is any gravity behind Harmanpreet Kaur's thinly veiled accusation of the team being over-reliant on her or not.
Harmanpreet Kaur entirely runs the middle-order
If the skipper's statement is confined to her stature in the middle-order, then it is hard to disagree. When batting at No.4, which is where she primarily plays, she often has to carry the burden and ensure to score the bulk of runs. The pressure increases tenfold when India are playing a batter short for the sake of their bowling unit.
The likes of Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh have been mediocre to say the least with the bat of late. As a result, should the top order fail to fire, India's fate entirely rests with how Harmanpreet Kaur. It is downright impossible to rescue the team everything they are in trouble, unless everyone contributes in the middle order, and that has not been the case for a while now.
It is hard to see how the over-reliance on Harmanpreet Kaur in the middle-order can be resolved without an extra batter being played at the risk of weakening the bowling unit. The bigger picture of whether the entire Indian team are over-reliant on Harmanpreet Kaur is a different question, but before coming to that, is her apparent plight unique?
It's natural for a growing team to be reliant on a few select players
Harmanpreet Kaur cited Australia's example where a team is not reliant on some players. While Indian women's cricket have evolved over the last few years, a comparison with a robust and well-oiled team like Australia is still not on the table.
India have built a blueprint of a fine blend between experience and youth, with a building pool of merging players, but it is still a work in progress. In such cases, when the team is not a finished product yet in terms of personnel and approach, at time there is too much responsibility on the senior members. Furthermore, this is not a plight that is reserved for Harmanpreet Kaur and the Indian side.
For instance, Laura Wolvaardt has been scoring the bulk of South Africa's runs of late, while Sri Lanka have been overly dependent on Chamari Athapaththu since ages.
While at times it can be frustrating playing the team's rescue act almost every single time, but it is an important role to play, especially at this juncture where the team is garnering experience and creating their identity.
Team India have won several matches without her contribution
On the flip side, Team India have one of the best top-orders in the world when they are in form. The reliance on Harmanpreet Kaur does increase when the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Jemimah Rodrigues falter, and that is not a long-term problem.
If Team India were truly over-dependent on Harmanpreet Kaur, they would have struggled greatly in the matches where her contributions were negligible. However, that is not the case.
Since 2022, Harmanpreet Kaur has scored 1269 runs at an average of 35.25 and a strike rate of 118.82, and India have been on the rise in this phase yielding credible results. While those are solid numbers, they do not scream 'over-dependent' in any way.
In comparison, Smriti Mandhana boasts eerily similar numbers (1597 runs at an average of 32.59 and a strike rate of 122.94). The case extends to Shafali Verma (1358 runs at an average of 25.62 and 123.23), and Jemima Rodrigues (1087 runs at an average of 32.93 and 117,76).
When four players in a team have dished out similar numbers over a two-year period, it is a bit unfair to say that the team is 'over-dependent' on Harmanpreet Kaur. It diminishes the impact that others have brought, which is similar in this case.
Harmanpreet Kaur has dug her own grave on so many occasions
While the top-order's failure on a few select occasions have left Harmanpreet Kaur stranded and the team being solely dependent on her, some instances have been her own undoing. Her questionable approach, which involves settling down and then accelerating is not a luxury nowadays, especially in run chases.
The building pressure has often led to other batters perishing, leaving Harmanpreet Kaur pinned at the other end, and creating the illusion of over-dependency. A crystal clear approach in batting when it comes to women's cricket is not mapped out entirely, and all-out aggression is not the answer, but a little more positivity in her own game could go a long way to relieve pressure off her own shoulders, and the others.
Only when the pressure is released off the shoulders of others, can the dependency be reduced on one single player.
To conclude, to say that India are overly dependent on Harmanpreet Kaur would massively undermine the efforts of other batters in the same journey. While at times the burden, more than what can be tolerated, has been put on her shoulders at times, it is more fair to say that India are dependent on Harmanpreet Kaur, but not too over-dependent.
Being dependent is a non-negotiable trait at this stage of her career and at this level, if the team cannot rely on one of their senior members, who can they really rely on?