Follow UsAfter a good start to the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, the Women in Blue have hit the big speedbreaker, after failing against South Africa and Australia in back-to-back games. Across both games, there was a common pattern: the Indian bowling unit withered under pressure as the opponents scored extraordinarily high in the final few overs.
But there’s also a deep-lying concern with India’s batting intent, as No.3 Harleen Deol has come under the scanner. Across the four World Cup encounters thus far, Deol has batted at a strike rate of 75.00, 70.76, 56.52 and 90.47, failing to carry on the momentum in the powerplay.
That’s where former Indian head coach Tushar Arothe has come up with a unique strategy – to employ the hard-hitting Richa Ghosh at No.3 to maximise the powerplay and the field restrictions.
“If Yastika (Bhatia) would have been there, she would have batted number three, isn’t it? I personally feel that if you want to take a chance and if a wicket goes in the first 5-6 overs, then let Richa Ghosh go at number three and encash those 15 overs,” Arothe told The Indian Express.
“She can play a little longer innings as well. There is no harm in trying,” he further added.
Barring that, Arothe also suggested that India need to find their sixth bowler. He reckoned that Radha Yadav would be the perfect choice.
“They need to find a sixth bowler, honestly speaking, because if you see, the first 5-6 batsmen, there are hardly any utility bowlers in the team. Harman (Harmanpreet Kaur) bowled in one of the matches. She bowled one or two overs, but she needs to bowl in practice. It does not come overnight. I feel they need to find a sixth bowler because if one bowler has an off day, to bowl 8-10 overs from a non-bowler is going to be really difficult,” he warned.
“All the pitches, if you see, we know that Visakhapatnam is a batting paradise. I am surprised why Radha Yadav is not in the team. She’s a package of utility batter, a brilliant fielder, one of the best fielders in the Indian team, and she is sitting out. She can bowl as well, 7-8 overs, 10 overs. Because India’s batters are not consistent, that is the reason I would say they are going with more batting depth rather than bowling,” Arothe explained.
India have a few decisions to make, as their strong start to the campaign could turn damp if they don’t turn their fortunes around, starting with their clash against England on October 19 (Sunday).