"Her bowling will be very crucial" - Veda Krishnamurthy on Deepti Sharma being India's X-factor in 2024 Women's T20 World Cup
Veda Krishnamurthy reckons Deepti Sharma will be the X-factor for India in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup, especially with her bowling. She added that the all-rounder can also contribute crucial runs down the order as she has done in franchise leagues recently.
The Women's T20 World Cup will be played in the UAE from October 3. It was originally supposed to be played in Bangladesh but was moved due to the political turmoil in the country.
During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Krishnamurthy responded in the affirmative when asked whether Deepti will be India's X-factor at the global event.
"She definitely will be because her bowling will be very crucial, and if there is any turn on offer, I think she will be more deadly in those conditions as well. It's been over a decade now, I think 2014 is when she debuted, and she has grown every year as a cricketer. She has come to a point where she has been a very crucial part of the Indian team, regardless of what the format is," she elaborated.
"Her performance, even with the bat, if she is coming in at No. 7 or No. 8, she can get those crucial runs. So Deepti being in good form, she has been in good form with all these franchise leagues that she has played, she just needs to carry forward that form and do well for India," Krishnamurthy added.
Deepti has picked up 131 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 5.97 in 114 T20I innings. The left-handed batter has also aggregated 1020 runs at a strike rate of 104.29 in 75 T20I knocks.
"Deepti Sharma has been a very key bowler for us" - Veda Krishnamurthy on India's reliance on spinners
In the same interaction, Veda Krishnamurthy was asked about India's bowling for UAE conditions.
"Of course, to get adjusted to the conditions is a major thing when you are playing in the UAE. Looking at the squad, because it was in Bangladesh, there is not much of changes they have made. It's a very spin-heavy team and we rely a lot on spinners as well because Deepti Sharma has been a very key bowler for us," she replied.
While highlighting Deepti Sharma's importance and Pooja Vastrakar's prowess with a slightly old ball, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Renuka Singh needs to deliver with the new ball for India to be a dominant force.
"With the faster bowlers, especially Pooja Vastrakar coming in with that semi-new ball and hitting that hard length, it's kind of worked well for India. It is about how they start. So they need Renuka to fire regardless of how the conditions are and if they do that, I think India will be very dominant in this World Cup," Krishnamurthy stated.
Renuka has picked up 50 wickets at an economy rate of 6.40 in 46 T20I innings. However, she hasn't been at her best lately and will want to raise her game at the global event.