Jhulan Goswami backs India to make it to the World T20 knockouts

Jhulan Goswami believes that India have enough firepower to make it to the semifinals of the World Twenty20, which gets underway in the Carribean from November 9.  Goswami retired from T20s earlier this year after her team, India Green, failed to qualify for the final of the three-team T20 Challenger Trophy, which kickstarted India's domestic season. Soon after that the Indian team travelled to Sri Lanka and won the five-match T20I series 4-0. The World Cup bound squad then formed the India A team that beat Australia A 3-0 in the T20 series in Mumbai before departing for the Windies.



"India is ready for the World T20 because they have prepared really well for this year and have performed really well in Sri Lanka,” Goswami told Aakash Chopra in his chat show Aakash Vani. “Team combination is set already. According to me, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy should play well in this tournament. This is important for them as well as for India as they could not do well in the last two-three seasons."



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Kaur and Mandhana have played both in the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia and Kia Super League in England, and Veda featured in last edition of WBBL. Mandhana topped KSL's batting charts with 421 runs in ten matches this year, helping Western Storm qualify for the finals day. Her runs at the top of the order, which included a century, came at a strike-rate of 174.68. She became the first Indian – male or female – to be adjudged player of the series in an overseas T20 league. Kaur was also in good touch, making a half-century and remaining unbeaten twice in seven innings for Lancashire Thunder.



Jhulan Goswami felt that the experience of three Indians playing in these two leagues will hold the team in good stead. “The girls are confident and have gathered experiences as well. There are two-three girls who have played premier leagues also outside the country and performed well,” she said. "So, according to me this team can reach the top four of this tournament."



After Goswami retired, it was widely believed that Shikha Pandey would lead India’s pace bowling department in the World T20. Instead Pandey did not feature in a single T20I in Sri Lanka and was dropped for the World T20, as the Hemlata Kala-led selection committee preferred to back youth over experience. The decision has since been backed by Ramesh Powar, the head coach, who has been attributed in ensuring that the youngsters continue to play fearless cricket instead of being bogged down by expectations.



Only Raj and Ekta Bisht in the current team are above 30 years of age, and the team consists of fresh talents like Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia, Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy. The average age of the squad is 24. There are eight players including three teenagers who are yet to turn 25.



Goswami, who till recently was India’s highest wicket-taker in the format before Poonam Yadav surpassed her in Sri Lanka, backed the youngsters to play a crucial role.



"There are few young cricketers in the team, who will play the important roles, like Jemimah Rodrigues, Arundhati Reddy, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar – these three-four girls are very talented and are performing continuously in T20s," she added. "Pooja Vastrakar has returned from injury and everyone will keep an eye on her according to me, because she bowls well, she has speed and can bounce the bowl really well. Moreover, she can bat also. Then there is Jemimah Rodrigues, who is performing consistently for India in T20s. Then, Arundhati Reddy, who is an all-rounder and an exciting cricketer. Along with bowling, she can bat also. She can do both the things well. This is indeed a great thing that many quality youngsters are coming in the team on a regular basis."



Shifting her focus to the future, Goswami insisted that the time was right to start the Women’s Indian Premier League as it would give youngsters a bigger platform to develop their game.



"IPL should start now because this is the right time for India team to start Women’s IPL. Earlier this year, we played one exhibition game (during men’s IPL) in Mumbai. The competition was good and both the teams were excited," Goswami explained. "According to me, five teams can be made now as there are talented domestic players available, and along with them foreign players will be involved. In this way, five teams can easily be made initially and then a competitive tournament can be played. Then see how much it will be successful. But, according to me, India is ready for Women’s IPL."