Can the Indian Women’s Cricket Team win Gold at the Asian Games?  

This year, women’s cricket will be a part of the Asian Games that will be played in China. From September 19 to 25, 11 T20Is will be played among eight teams: Indonesia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. All the matches will be played at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field in Hangzhou.

Out of the eight teams, four teams, namely, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh will play in the quarterfinals. In contrast, only two teams from Indonesia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Malaysia will advance to the quarterfinals.

So, what are India’s chances of winning the gold medal at the Asian Games? The prospects look strong on paper, as the Women in Blue have been ruling the roost at the Asia level since 2004, thanks to their envious record at the Asia Cup. Of the eight editions of the Asia Cup, India won seven, with a solitary one going to Bangladesh in 2018 as they beat India in the finals. Asia Cup was transitioned from a 50-over format to T20Is in 2012, and since then, India have won three out of the four editions.

Looking at the Women’s T20I ICC rankings, India is placed at number four, with three non-Asian countries (Australia, England, and New Zealand) ahead of them. Of the remaining seven participants in the Asian Games, Mongolia does not feature in the list of the top 70 T20I sides in women’s cricket. Among the other six teams, Pakistan ranks seventh, Sri Lanka ranks eighth, Bangladesh ranks ninth, Indonesia ranks 21st, Hong Kong ranks 22nd, and Malaysia ranks 27th.

Besides, the head-to-head numbers also are in India’s favour. India has a win-loss ratio of 13:3 against Bangladesh, 2:0 against Malaysia, 11:3 against Pakistan, and 18:4 against Sri Lanka. However, India have never played against Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, which means there is an element of surprise in store for the Women in Blue at the Asian Games.    

The numbers may seem in India’s favour, but is the squad equipped to clinch the gold medal? The Indian women’s cricket team have come close to clinching the championship at global events on several occasions in the last two decades, including the World Cup finals in 2005 and 2017, the T20 World Cup final in 2020, and Commonwealth Games finals in 2022. This year, for the Asian Games, the squad selected mainly ticks all the boxes. The batting is powered by Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, and Jemimah Rodrigues. Then there are quality all-rounders in Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya and Amanjot Kaur. The inclusion of Richa Ghosh as a wicket-keeper-batter will strengthen the batting depth and the team’s ability to finish the games. The spin department will be led by veteran Rajeshwari Gayakwad, with youngsters like Minnu Mani and Bareddy Anusha for company. However, looking at the pace department may worry the Indian fans as big names like Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghana Singh, and Shikha Pandey are missing. Pooja Vastrakar will have to shoulder the responsibility in the pace department. Injured left-arm speedster Anjali Sarvani has been replaced by Vastrakar. It will also be interesting to see if Titas Sadhu, Uma Chetry and Kanika Ahuja get the chance to make their international debuts. 

Smriti Mandhana will lead India in the first two matches since the regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has been banned from two international fixtures due to a breach of ICC’s code of conduct during India’s tour of Bangladesh in July. If India reaches the final of the Asian Games, Kaur will take charge of the side, and Mandana will resume as her deputy.