Team India’s run in the Women’s World Cup 2022 ended on a heartbreaking note as South Africa clinched the final-ball thriller to qualify for the semi-final. SA scored the required 7 off the final over of the game to punch their ticket to the next round.
Batting first, the runners-up of the previous edition of the ICC event put up a total of 275/7 on the board. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, and Mithali Raj scored half-centuries whereas Harmanpreet Kaur scored 48 off 57.
The bowlers did their best and took the game to the final delivery. But it wasn’t their day and SA scored the required 1 run off the final delivery to rule India out of the tournament.
Following the first-round exit, Team India might undergo some changes and a few players could lose their spots going ahead. Former India captain Diana Edulji has shared her take on the team’s future and opined that it should be the end of the road for Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami.
Writing in her column for The Indian Express, Edulji wrote: “I think it should be the end of the glorious careers of two Indian cricketers – Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. Jhulan had already expressed that this will be her last World Cup. You can’t block two places in the XI, but you also can’t put two inexperienced players in a crucial game.”
“It’s high time we groom younger players. I feel it should be the end of the road (for Mithali and Jhulan). We say ‘thank you’ to them for the glorious efforts they gave for Indian women’s cricket. Every journey has to end somewhere and their destination has arrived. It’s time Shafali (Verma) and others are groomed.
Mithali has played 6 World Cups whereas Jhulan has played five 50-over World Cups so far. Mithali was the captain of the team which played the final of the 2005 and 2017 World Cups. Jhulan captained the team in the 2009 World Cup. Both the players have retired from T20I cricket and are expected to take a call on their careers soon.
Harmanpreet Kaur is the vice-captain of the 50-over team and could be handed the job if there’s a change in the leadership group. The Indian players will next hit the field in the Women’s T20 Challenge, which is likely to take place in May.
