Hyderabad: Former India cricketer Poonam Yadav has backed Jemimah Rodrigues to bat at No.3 in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup.
India started their campaign with a loss against New Zealand. In a fixture played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India conceded a defeat by 58 runs. However, there was a shuffle in the batting order as Harmanpreet was promoted to bat at No.3 while Jemimah came to bat at No.4.
India have been shuffling their batting unit since the Asia Cup. They tried Dayalan Hemalatha, Uma Chetry and Sajeevan Sajan at the No.3 position. Reflecting on what should be India’s batting order, former cricketer Poonam Yadav opined that Jemimah should come to bat one-down.
“Tin number pe main chahti hun ki jemimah khele. Kyunki do fielders baher rehte hain. Unme kabiliya hain ki wo us field ka use kar sake. (I want Jemimah to play at No.3 as only two fielders are outside the 30-yard circle in the start. She has ability to exploit that field.),” Poonam said while answering a query by ETV Bharat during Star Sports Press Room.
“Harman ke pass kabiliyat hain ki wo lambe hits lagaye.To mujhe lagta hain aap agar jemi ko 3 no. pe bheje aur harman ko 4 number pe to team ke liye suitable rahega. (Harman has ability to play big hits. Thus, in my opinion, Jemi should come to bat one-down while Harman should walk in the middle at No.4).”
After losing the first match against New Zealand, India emerged triumphant versus Pakistan beating them by six wickets. During the chase of 106, Jemimah came to bat at the third position while Harmanpreet walked into bat two-down.
Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar backed the decision to send Harmanpreet up the order.
“No team is fully settled. There are always going to be one or two places in which a team would want to do better or there is a youngster coming in. So, this is not a team where all 11 players are properly settled at the top of their game. You have to make sure that you are working around your stronger areas. That’s where I feel straightaway making that change again may not be ideal from the player's perspective. From a team's point of view and from a player's confidence point of view, it's important to have that sort of consistency. Hence you should continue with the first decision you take,” he said.
