Picking a combined India-Pakistan playing 11 for Women's Asia Cup 2024 ft. Smriti Mandhana, Nida Dar
The 2024 Women's Asia Cup is set to get underway with a high-profile clash between India and Pakistan on the opening day on Friday, July 19. The tournament will be held in Sri Lanka, as defending champions India look to defend their title.
India and Pakistan are placed in Group A of the competition, which also includes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nepal. The top two teams from the group will qualify for the semi-finals after a round-robin group format.
The Women in Blue enjoy an excellent record against their arch-rivals, losing only three in 14 matches. Pakistan women's team do not have many good memories of the Asia Cup against India, with two successive final losses in 2012 and 2016 being significant lost opportunities.
However, the last time these two sides met in the competition, Pakistan recorded a memorable 13-run win. As a result, they do not need to look too far back for inspiration since they head into the upcoming clash as massive underdogs.
On that note, let us take a look at a combined India-Pakistan playing 11 for Women's Asia Cup 2024.
Top Order: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Sidra Amin
Smriti Mandhana has been in stellar form of late and is literally and figuratively the first name on any team sheet. The left-handed batter had a memorable home series against South Africa, and Team India would wish for her to continue the same form in the Asia Cup as well as the upcoming 2024 Women's World Cup during the October-November window.
Shafali Verma is not in the best of forms, but her ability to take the game away right at the start with her aggression makes her inclusion a must. The right-handed opening batter scored a historic double-hundred in the one-off Test against South Africa but did not fare well in the white ball series. The Asia Cup presents itself as an excellent avenue for Verma to get back into form.
Sidra Amin opens the batting for Pakistan but is the perfect link between the openers and the middle order in this particular playing XI. The right-handed batter did not have the best of outings against England away from home but is the leading run-scorer for the team in T20Is over the last year.
Middle Order: Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Nida Dar, and Richa Ghosh
Harmanpreet Kaur is the perfect experienced candidate that every middle-order needs and her leadership ability only justifies her place in the team even more. She also had a good white-ball series against South Africa, although she could get only one innings in the T20I series.
Jemimah Rodrigues has adapted well to the No.5 role, and with a bit of power-hitting included in her arsenal, she becomes the right choice for the spot. Her exceptional fielding ability is a bonus as well.
Nida Dar brings a lot to the table with her all-round abilities and immense experience. Leading the Pakistan women's team since Bismah Maroof's resignation and eventual retirement, she has been the third-leading run-scorer and second-highest wicket-taker in the format.
Richa Ghosh has cemented her place as the wicket-keeper across formats for quite a while. Her presence in the lower middle-order is a huge boost due to her finishing ability. Her power-hitting could help the team add crucial 5-10 runs to the total, which could make the difference in the end.
Lower Order: Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Sadia Iqbal, and Renuka Singh
Deepti Sharma brings a lot of value into the team by being the lead spinner and also gives the batting a lot of depth. The spinner was among the wickets in the recent series against South Africa and is among the early favorites to be the leading wicket-taker in the Asia Cup considering the conditions.
Sadia Iqbal is the perfect spin bowling partner for Deepti Sharma. Being a left-arm spinner, she brings variety into the mix and has been in good touch. She is the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan over the last year by a fair margin. She has picked up 22 wickets in 19 matches at an average of 19.04.
Pooja Vastrakar and Renuka Singh are the pace bowling duo for the combined team. The former was the leading wicket-taker in the recent South Africa series and has had a brilliant year so far. Although Renuka Singh's form has been shaky of late, her ability with the new ball and her experience, makes her the spearhead of the attack.