Aakash Chopra says there will be pressure on Harmanpreet Kaur: ‘This could probably be the last as well…’ – The Indian Express

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur,36, has had a couple of ordinary scores so far in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup co-hosted in India and Sri Lanka. With age not on her side, this might probably be the last 50-over World Cup she will feature in. However, the silver lining is been she has not been completely out of form. Kaur has been able to get starts but failed to convert them into scores.
“There will be pressure. Firstly, you are the captain. This is your fifth World Cup, the first as a captain, and it might be in her mind that this could probably be the last as well. It’s very unlikely that she will be in the next ODI World Cup. So the pressure is there,” said Aakash Chopra speaking on Star Sports.
“If the others are also getting starts and not converting them into big scores, publicly, you say everything is okay, but in your heart, you know that you need to contribute. If a team’s leader doesn’t score runs, doesn’t perform from the front, the team becomes slightly weak. So the captain has to score. She will definitely be feeling slight pressure,” Chopra elaborated.
On Sunday, against Pakistan, India played with just five bowling options. Chopra said if Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet can get back to scoring runs, India can get the sixth bowling option. “If we see the larger picture, if Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur score runs, then you can also think about the sixth bowler. As of now, you want a sixth bowler, but, although everyone has runs, no one has big runs,” he said.
“Then suddenly you start thinking whether you will fall short in batting in 50 overs. However, when you score runs and your main player is also scoring runs, you have the confidence to play one more bowler, as you won’t need Richa Ghosh to bat at No. 8. So that thought process could change the day Kaur and Mandhana’s bats start talking,” Chopra observed..
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