At a time where much of the focus around the establishment of Indian Cricket has remained ever so buried around the men’s game, with much due respect, with contests such as the Indian Premier League (that recently ended) and later, the Afghanistan tour of India making great headlines, it’s incredibly refreshing to see our women gearing up for some action. And what an amazing and important piece of action it is that we have on our hands with the T20 women’s World Cup, the seminal ICC global tournament in the briefest format, about to undergo live.
And it’s undoubtedly the women’s team from India, i.e., the members of the Women’s T20 international team that are garnering much attention at a time where all roads lead to England and the action surrounds the pinnacle of all cricketing events in the women’s sport.
But interestingly, some very keen observations have been made just ahead of the tournament by none other than Shubhangi Kulkarni, who has shared her interesting insights about the sort of effort that would be expected out of the celebrated Harmanpreet Kaur-led T20I side if they are to lift the eminent and prized cup.
For starters, those of us who may not be aware about Shubhangi Kulkarni, then it ought to be reminded that the former Indian cricketer happened to be a regular feature of the side back in the late Seventies and until the entirety of the Eighties before retiring from the game in 1991.
Kulkarni was a respected member of the Indian women’s side from the onset of 1976 before leaving the game in 1991. During this time, she represented the country in 19 Tests and 27 one dayers.
For starters, the ex India cricketer has put forth in no uncertain terms that in order for the women’s side to emerge successful in this prestigious tournament, each and every member of the side will have to put their hands up and come forth with a team based performance or effort as that’s the need of the hour.
She has ascertained that every team member will have to carry forth the responsibilities for the unit in order to attain success in this great event. Here is her direct quote just ahead of the start of India’s campaign in the 2026 women’s T20 World Cup:
"In the T20 format, every player has to contribute by playing their respective roles effectively and playing to their strengths. Richa [Ghosh], for example, is explosive as [scored 36-ball 68 vs England on Wednesday]. Jemimah [Rodrigues] can also bat responsibly.”
Furthermore, the straight talking Indian cricketer has also urged Harmanpreet and her team to recount its famous 2025 success in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup, highlighting the fact that they played a brand of fearless cricket.
She would further add to her quote-
“ They did it during the ODI World Cup win not too long ago. They played fearless cricket, gave their 200 per cent, backed each other. Now, they have to repeat all these things in England," said Kulkarni. And if there indeed is some are of concern that the team would like to chalk out a careful plan about, then the following is what the always observant Kulkarni added about the side "Our batters need to play less dot balls.”
India begin their white ball T20I World Cup contest with what will hopefully be a mega clash against Pakistan on Sunday.
