India will enter the 2026 ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup carrying the tag of ODI world champions, but their recent form has been patchy. Over the last six months, the side registered series wins at home against Sri Lanka and away against Australia, but stumbled in both recent overseas assignments against South Africa (4-1) and England (2-1).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThat India has to understand or the players need to probably take their roles very much seriously. Not that they don't - they do, but what I understood is that whether it is batting or bowling leading the way, the team has to decide.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIn my view, batting leads the way in this Indian team. If that has to happen, then there is no room for faltering of the batters because we are playing five specialist batters in this lineup and team. If five batters specializing only in one field are there, then there is no room for failures,\u201d Anjum told IANS in an exclusive conversation ahead of India starting their campaign against Pakistan on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
From the three-match T20I series against England, India played a returning Yastika Bhatia at number three, which meant Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur went down to number four and five respectively. Though Yastika finished as the leading run-getter in the series with 119 runs, her strike rate of 126.79 was the lowest among the top five scorers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Anjum felt Yastika\u2019s move to number three was dictated by limited options in the middle order. \u201cI understand why these changes have been made and one big reason is the fact that they don't have many options to bat at number three. When I say options to bat at number there, if there is for example a Jemi or Harman batting, then there is no or less options for batting in the middle order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIdeally Bharti Fulmali would have been a perfect fit had she taken her chances. Indian team took her to Australia, where she was not played. I think she was on the team to South Africa also where she did not do justice to that opportunities that was given.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIn England also, I think one practice match that they played before the T20 series, she actually got some runs but I am pretty certain that she was not convincing. She has not been the best fielder around on the park as well. So, I am assuming because the middle order space was slightly a challenge for the Indian team, so they wanted to strengthen the top order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cNow, when you strengthen the top order, there is no other place for Yastika. I mean, she can bat in the middle order, but she has got challenges of her own and keeping those challenges in mind, it is better that she bats at the top. So, that is possibly the reason why I feel that Yastika is there at number three.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Quizzed on Yastika\u2019s slowness in scoring, especially after power-play, hampering India\u2019s batting flow, Anjum felt one has to be patient with her, considering she had an ACL surgery on her left knee which ruled her out of India\u2019s ODI World Cup winning campaign last year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSee, that timing can vary. In T20 cricket, that can happen to anyone. You can start off slow but you can make up later with the fluency. You can have a great fluency going but somewhere down the line, you just lose that momentum. It can happen and let's not forget that Yastika does not have a lot of cricket behind her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cFor the last two years, she has been more on the sidelines. She played on Australia A tour in a few matches, but when she came back to the Indian team, she was injured and then she didn't play this season of WPL. So, she is actually coming off a big injury lay-off and that fluency is there in the stroke play.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut the fluency is not there on the park in terms of running between and even fielding and that has to be managed in the side. For losing timing, that can happen to any batter. But at the end of the day, when she strikes the ball, one has to compliment that the ball actually makes a very nice sound. The bat hitting the ball makes a very nice sweet sound from Yastika's bat when she is in full flow and that is one of the big reasons why India dominated that first game (in Chelmsford).\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Speaking about Bharti, who\u2019s been dealing with inconsistency and lack of decent game time after making a comeback to the T20I team for the Australia tour, Anju stated that her initial selection had come as a surprise to her and that she not being at her best also led to restructuring of batting order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI don't think Bharti has taken her chances and there is no hiding from that fact. If she had taken her chances, she would have played in the middle overs in the first and second T20I. There is no way that she wouldn't have got a chance. That is in my view as I don't think she has taken her chances.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHer selection was a surprise for me when it actually happened and that happened during the WPL in 2026. She did well in those couple of matches and was picked for the Indian team. The day she was picked for the Indian team, since then till the last, I didn't see the bat and the ball meeting nicely for Bharti Fulmali while playing for the franchise at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo, I am not surprised that she has not grabbed those chances. Why? Why not? What could have been done? I do not know because I am not with the Indian team and I am not watching their practice sessions (regularly). So, I wouldn't know the fact. But what I saw of her playing, she didn't look as convincing as she was before her Indian selection,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On Deepti Sharma\u2019s promotion ahead of Richa Ghosh in Taunton and possibility of it being repeated in the World Cup, Anjum felt it was about giving Deepti more batting time. \u201cI feel it was just about giving game time as a batter to Deepti ahead of Richa. Whether it is right or wrong, I mean, it's a debate for any day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut I felt it was just about giving Deepti Sharma a little more game time out there in the centre because in the earlier game, she had not had that kind of batting. Coming to Richa's part, I feel that the Indian batting order is flexible and I am not a big fan of flexibility myself because I feel that every batter should know where they are playing, what they are doing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut at the end of the day, how the present scenario of this Indian batting order is, I will say that what you asked about Richa getting promoted, if need be, yes, she needs to walk in ahead of many other batters.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On India\u2019s bowling, Anjum was blunt in her assessment. \u201cSee, there will not be just one factor. There will be multiple factors (of success). Of course, individually if you pick up the skill or the discipline that you are talking about, then yes, batting will in my view lead the way. Bowling has to try very hard to find ways to pick up wickets of the opposition camp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThey have to literally dig deeper than what we saw in the first three T20 games (against England). In totality, it will not be just one side leading the way. I guess fielding will play a very important part and I say that for every game. It doesn't matter whether you are playing a number one or tenth ranked team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cFielding will play a very crucial part because India will be playing a lot of their matches in the daytime because of the Indian timing. So, that will also make a big difference and there will be a lot of good support for the team and it will just spur them on and encourage them because now the girls are pretty used to playing cricket in front of a good capacity crowd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThey have to literally dig deeper than what we saw in the first three T20 games (against England). In totality, it will not be just one side leading the way. I guess fielding will play a very important part and I say that for every game. It doesn't matter whether you are playing a number one or tenth ranked team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On conditions for Sunday\u2019s game against Pakistan, Anjum signed off by saying India would adjust combinations as per nature of the pitch. \u201cIf it\u2019s a spin-assisted track in Birmingham against Pakistan, obviously you will find an extra spinner in the Indian team. If it's a good batting track, then I don't think the Indian team will pack it up with an additional spinner. They will still go with a three-seam bowling option.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n