Not long ago, the Indian team was scripting their story on foreign shores and at home. They beat England in England, and then Australia in Australia. Sandwiched between the two T20I series wins were the World Cup triumph and another season of the Women's Premier League with an Indian captain lifting the trophy. Surely, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side ought to enter the 2026 skyexchange cricket as one of the strongest contenders; the ascension to world dominance well in sight.
They are possibly still positioned to be there. But the challenges confront them right at the start, in a tricky Group A. Marred by injuries to key pace bowling all-rounders and successive series losses to South Africa and England in the lead-up, they haven't been left as comfortably positioned to outplay multiple other strong contenders for a berth in the semis. Their best combination is still far from perfect, and indifferent form of key players have only added to their woes. But they will know from their latest skyexchange inplay experience: in the quest to win the world tournament, the present doesn't decide the future, and when the time comes, nerves will dictate narratives.
Jemimah Rodrigues:The 25-year-old batter thrives in England like she does in few other places. In 13 T20Is played in the country, she has scored at a strike rate of 130.25, significantly higher than her career strike rate of 118.98. Given her experience of playing three seasons of The Women's Hundred, and her current form, she would be expected to marshall India's middle-order with sustained pace and control.
Shree Charani: The battering she received in the last game notwithstanding, the 21-year-old left-arm spinner has enjoyed a fruitful time bowling in England. In the seven matches preceding that game in Taunton, she picked 14 wickets in the country, conceding runs just under her career economy rate of 7.65. Even when India endured a tough run over the past couple of months, Shree Charani remained reliable. In 5 out of those seven games, she picked at least a wicket and conceded at seven or less an over. She will hold the key to control the momentum, especially through the middle overs.
What's in the news: Yastika Bhatia marked her return to competitive cricket after nearly nine months on the sidelines, and slotted in directly at No. 3, against England. She made a solid impression twice in the Powerplay. But just as many times, she has considerably slowed down as soon as the field restrictions are lifted. Having given her three outings in three games, India have kept their cards open for the combination they might play with. But it's uncertain if it's a gamble they can afford to take, especially with Richa Ghosh struggling for runs, and not enough muscle to back her in the lower middle order.
Where they finished in 2024: With only two victories in the campaign - against Pakistan and Sri Lanka - India's run in the tournament was halted in the group stage.
How have they performed since then: It was all going well for the Indian T20I side till the start of April this year. They won away series in England and Australia, apart from beating West Indies and Sri Lanka at home. They won 12 out of 16 games before their tour to South Africa. However, in the build-up to the World Cup, the pieces are not falling into place, as they've lost five of their last eight games, against South Africa and England.
The big game: vs South Africa. Having suffered a 1-4 loss in the T20I series against Laura Wolvaardt's side recently, India will be up for a tough assignment at Old Trafford. The result of this contest could potentially dictate their chances of qualifying for the semis.
A record in sight: Smriti Mandhana needs 167 runs to become only the second batter in the world to register 4500 runs in women's T20Is. No batter - man or woman - has crossed the 5000-run mark as yet.
Meanwhile, Arundhati Reddy needs two wickets to become the fourth Indian pacer to take 50 T20I scalps.
Realistic expectation: Anything less than a place in the final would be a disappointing campaign for the team. But there would be multiple stiff challenges along the way to reach that point.