Trisha Ghosal, London
Before the T20 World Cup got underway, there were hours of preparation. Training camps were held, bilateral series were used to fine-tune combinations and players spoke confidently about clarity of roles. Yet, within 48 hours of India’s group-stage elimination on June 28, the Asian Games squad was announced — and it left behind far more questions than answers.
One can reasonably assume the squad had been finalised even before India travelled to England. If that was indeed the case, it raises a fundamental question: what exactly were the selectors, the team management and the BCCI hoping to learn from the World Cup?
If the squad had already been decided, were World Cup performances ever going to influence selection?
The Asian Games squad is almost identical to the World Cup squad, with only Yastika Bhatia and Prema Rawat missing. While Prema’s omission can be viewed as part of the natural churn of squad selection, Yastika’s exclusion is far more difficult to understand.
This was a player returning from a lengthy ACL rehabilitation. She had not played any significant competitive cricket before being drafted straight into India’s World Cup squad. G Kamalini, meanwhile, who featured in the Sri Lanka T20I series, had returned from her WPL injury, continued scoring runs in domestic cricket. Yet, India chose experience over form.
The problem is not that Yastika was selected.
The problem is what happened after she was.
She scored a half-century batting at No. 3 in the opening T20I against England at Chelmsford. She retained that position for the next two matches but repeatedly slowed after the powerplay and was retired out during the second T20I at Bristol.
In the first warm-up match against the West Indies, she batted at No. 4 and was retired out once again. In the second warm-up against England, she was restored to No. 3.
Then came the World Cup.
She missed the Pakistan game altogether. She returned against the Netherlands but batted at No. 5. Against South Africa, she was back at No. 3. She remained there against Bangladesh. Against Australia, she did not bat at all. Two days later, she found herself out of the Asian Games squad.
Yastika admittedly did not score enough runs. She looked below her best in the field and even her running between the wickets prompted questions over her fitness. Those performances deserve scrutiny.
But so does the way India handled her return.
Was she fast-tracked too quickly simply because India wanted an experienced player in the squad? And if so, was there ever a clear plan for how she would be used?
There is also a human side to this conversation.
Following the first match against England, Yastika spoke openly about the mental toll of recovering from her ACL injury.
“It was really tough. There were days when there was no visible improvement.”
Rehabilitation from a serious injury is as much psychological as it is physical. A player fights to return, earns selection, is moved up and down the batting order almost every game and is then dropped from the very next squad.
If we rightly expect fans and the media to be mindful of players’ mental health, should the team management not be held to the same standard?
And Yastika is far from being the only example. Throughout the tournament, India’s batting order resembled a revolving door.
Richa Ghosh.
Jemimah Rodrigues.
Harmanpreet Kaur.
Even the captain’s position changed repeatedly. Batters were shifted almost every game, making it difficult for anyone to settle into a clearly defined role.
Nor is this a new phenomenon.
The same pattern has appeared in bilateral series and major tournaments over the past two years. Playing XIs change frequently. Batting positions change even more often. Players are asked to adapt constantly but are rarely afforded the security needed to succeed.
India often speak about playing “fearless cricket”.
But how can players truly play without fear when they themselves do not know where they will bat from one match to the next — or whether they will even feature in the next XI?
Perhaps the clearest illustration of this uncertainty came after India’s defeat to Australia.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar was asked why Jemimah Rodrigues, who had failed to time the ball well, was not retired out earlier during the game.
His response was telling.
“It didn’t strike me at the time.”
If it did not strike the head coach sitting in the dugout, nor the captain batting in the middle, then who exactly was supposed to make that call? Jemimah herself?
The media are often accused of becoming public relations machinery when they praise players and of being negative when they ask difficult questions.
But someone has to ask them.
Because until the management itself starts asking those same uncomfortable questions, very little will change.
The speed with which the Asian Games squad was announced suggests that there was little appetite to assess what had unfolded in England. It gives the impression that the World Cup changed very little in the thinking of the selectors.
That is perhaps the most worrying takeaway.
India should have been building steadily after winning the ODI World Cup in 2025. Instead, the momentum appears to have stalled.
The gap between India and Australia has undoubtedly narrowed in terms of raw skill.
The difference lies elsewhere.
Australia backed Lucy Hamilton throughout the tournament despite a modest start. Megan Schutt, one of the most experienced fast bowlers in world cricket, sat out to accommodate that decision. Beth Mooney also endured a lean spell with the bat before eventually finding form.
Australia invested in their players. They gave them clarity. They gave them security. Most importantly, they gave them time. Players perform best when they know one poor outing will not define their future. India possess the talent to compete with the world’s best. That much is beyond doubt.
What remains in doubt is whether they possess a long-term vision that allows those players to flourish. Because building bench strength is not merely about identifying talent. It is about trusting it.
And until India start doing exactly that, every tournament will continue to raise the same questions.
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