Australia drubbing shows India risks being perpetual learners who fail the big tests

A home ODI World Cup beckons in under a year and the Indian team looks like a jigsaw puzzle with the parts all mismatched if the 3-0 humbling by Australia is anything to go by.

Frequent experimentation, persistently ordinary fielding standards and a batting order that has looked disjointed continue to plague the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side. One can’t fault the faithful for feeling a sense of deja vu as these glaring issues were highlighted heading into the T20 World Cup earlier this year too, where India made a sorry group-stage exit.

Back to the drawing board

When a team disappoints, they head back to the drawing board to course correct. Where does India begin though?

Smriti Mandhana termed the team’s fielding ‘still a work in progress’ two years in. The batting unit is still dependent on Smriti or Harmanpreet carrying the side on its back. Harmanpreet’s captaincy too was under the scanner for not being aggressive enough, ironic given that her aggression and fearlessness were her USP when she was handed the reins of the T20 side nearly eight years ago.

Smriti has had a solid 2024 in ODIs. She became the first woman to score four centuries in the format in a calendar year. Barring the one at the WACA in the third ODI against Australia, the other three were in winning causes against South Africa and New Zealand. However, Smriti has oscillated between extremes this year, with either single-digit efforts or scores around the three-figure mark. Finding a midground with more consistency is crucial for a side that, at the moment, is also without the services of Shafali Verma whose long rope finally ran out in the format.

Richa Ghosh’s promotion up the order seemed like an injury mandate when Priya Punia went off injured in the second ODI. However, after the game, Richa revealed that she was told before the start of play that she would be bumped up to the opening slot. She opened in the third ODI too. How Richa, who had batted at no. 6 or 7 for the majority of her career, has become a prime candidate for the opening slot remained unexplained by the team management.

Shafali was dropped due to her inconsistency in the format. Yastika Bhatia finds herself recovering from a wrist issue. Pulling Richa up to open is a viable strategy if there are others to slot in her place for the role of finisher in this team. However, India has no like-for-like for Richa, yet. That came back to bite the side in the third ODI when a steady bat towards the end may have had better luck in turning the result in its favour.

The experimentation is difficult to understand but it keeps in theme with what happened in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. Before the event, Richa, Dayalan Hemalatha, Uma Chetry and Sajeevan Sajana were all given a go at the number 3 position. Eventually, Harmanpreet was bumped up to that position, a curve ball no one saw coming until after the team reached the Middle East to begin its campaign.

It pinched Jemimah Rodrigues who was constantly moving up and down the order to accommodate Harmanpreet. It is pinching Richa who did score a valiant half-century in the second ODI but fell early in the third. Her attacking ability, which was honed into her for the finisher role in this setup, came through in her avatar as the opener. It worked once and failed once.

Strong PowerPlays, solid starts and a player (or two) who can carry their bat at least halfway through the game make all the difference in ODIs. India’s fortune looks bright when Smriti fires. Since the 2017 ODI World Cup, Smriti has been part of 30 wins in the format and has scored above 50 in 20 of them including five centuries. She has also been a part of 29 losses this team has fallen to. The record shows that her top scores — that improve India’s chances of victory — are few and far between.

Harmanpreet, alongside copping flak for lack of bite on the field, also has some worrying numbers with the bat. Since the 2017 World Cup – where her unbeaten 171 stunned Australia – Harman has played 53 ODIs with just nine fifties and three centuries to her name. In the format, the number four slot she occupies demands stability and a longer effort from her in the middle. Her inconsistency, without the protection of the captain’s armband, would put her in a direct line of heat. It doesn’t help that she’s not there to front the press when big losses happen.

Neetu David, the chief selector, rallied behind Harman after India’s exit in the T20 World Cup, but the 35-year-old will be aware that she’s on borrowed time in the leadership role.

West Indies bring fresh questions

While the West Indies announced its squads for its tour of India a few weeks ago, India fashionably chose to release its squad information two days before the T20I leg was to begin in Navi Mumbai on December 15. The announcement came with expected maiden call-ups for a few domestic players – namely Raghvi Bisht, Nandini Kashyap and Pratika Rawal.

However, what no one saw coming were the exclusions of Arundhati Reddy – who bowled one of the best spells by an Indian in Australia a few days ago – and Shafali. Shafali, who was dropped from the ODIs for her low returns in the format found herself out of the T20I squad too, a move that is hard to understand given she’s done little wrong to earn the axe.

Equally puzzling are the unexplained exclusions of all-rounders Shikha Pandey — who has been much sought after by leagues around the world and is fresh off a remarkable WBBL stint with the Brisbane Heat — and Sneh Rana. When asked about Shikha’s future in national colours, Neetu said the setup had higher fitness considerations in mind. In Sneh’s case, there have been no explanations. 

Compare this to how the Australian framework has embraced Georgia Voll. She came in as an injury replacement for Alyssa Healy and made a splash with scores of 46 n.o, 101 and 26, scoring at a brisk pace and looking at home even against a challenging bowling. Arundhati got just one game in a country primed for pace bowling. She showed better control and maximised her ability to swing the ball both ways in that unplayable spell in the third ODI and yet she will be headed to represent Kerala in the domestic tournament over turning out against the Windies.

Another long rope has been accorded to Deepti Sharma whose batting disappointed in the T20 World Cup and against Australia where batters needed to shift gears and score briskly due to the target set for them. The 2024 Women’s Premier League saw Deepti attempt to reinvent her batting, working on her power-hitting and long-range hits with the UP Warriorz. But recently, her template has fallen back to her old self, building innings slowly and taking long to settle in before trying to tackle match situations.

India’s lower order and tail were hapless in that 2017 World Cup, and it largely remains to be today. While it does feature names like Shreyanka Patil (when she’s fit), Arundhati (when she gets a game), Tanuja Kanwer and others who can be quite handy with the bat for short cameos, the tendency is to more often fall like ninepins.

Learners’ syndrome

If the issues holding a side back are the same over seven years, tough questions need to be asked. Since India’s series loss in Australia, legends like Diana Edulji have called for limiting Indian participation in overseas leagues. It’s difficult to see the merit in that argument given that players from other nations have found the ability to balance league and national performances with elan.

The establishment of the WPL too had the levelling up skill and exposure to higher standards of competition in mind. It was a tournament that took shape after years of player requests and prayers for a league that could do for women what the IPL had done for the men.

However, the Indian women’s team will do well to remember that – no matter how hard the struggle was to get a WPL going and remain competitive in its fold in every edition – the pinnacle of the game still is the international fold and the showpieces within. A WBBL has the respect it has because of the sheer dominance of the Australian women’s side across formats and the stacked cupboard of trophies they have to show for it. England’s superiority on the international stage and its World Cup win included attributions to its domestic setup including the now-defunct Kia Super League.

India’s problems lie very much within its system. Constant chopping and changing, the rarity of a steady playing XI in matches, outdated playing styles and immunity to non-performers aren’t the best weapons in an arsenal for a side wanting to make an impression during a home World Cup.

With several areas of the game still a work in progress for this side, India runs the risk of being those kids who fail a class year on year. What’s the point of being perpetual learners if you fail the big tests that matter?

(The writer was in Brisbane for ABC-International Development’s cricket commentary and MoJo program).