When India last travelled to England for a major global event, they returned heartbroken but transformed. Harmanpreet Kaur’s unforgettable 171 against Australia in the semifinal and a runners-up finish at the 2017 ODI World Cup ignited a surge in interest, which gave a big boost to women’s cricket in the country.
Nine years on, only Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma remain from that squad – but they return as reigning ODI world champions with a chance of completing a historic white-ball double.
Since 2017, India has reached two Women’s T20 World Cup semifinals and a final, establishing themselves as consistent contenders on the biggest stage.
What has eluded them, though, is the final step. As another T20 World Cup begins, India’s hopes will inevitably rest on familiar names such as Harmanpreet, Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues. But if they are to convert years of promise into a maiden title, the decisive contributions may have to come from three players who don’t always dominate the headlines.