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  Image: BCCI When Shreyas Iyer was named the new T20I captain of the Indian team, it was considered a bold move by the selectors. On the surface, it seemed like one too. After all, Suryakumar Yadav, the then captain, was struggling for form. With India having hoisted the T20 World Cup trophy, alongside possessing incredible depth in white-ball cricket, it was time for such a ruthless call to be made.  However, just like how there are different sides to a prism, such a big decision could also have contrasting viewpoints. One of them could be it wasn’t right to elevate Shreyas to the leadership role when he hadn’t been a part of the T20I set-up for close to three years. This school of thought also has enough logic attached to it. The keynote would be even if one of the candidates has the credentials to take over the mantle of leading the side, he needs to earn it. Simply put, parachuting a player who was out of the set-up, to a position of such eminence, despite the presence...

  Image: X Boria Majumdar in London As the dust settles on India’s group-stage exit in the ongoing T20 World Cup, a lot of people have asked me whether India should continue with Harmanpreet Kaur as captain. It is a very natural and pertinent question. In two consecutive T20 World Cups, India have been unable to progress beyond the group stage. Harmanpreet isn’t getting any younger, and in this particular World Cup her only innings of real consequence was the one against Australia in a losing cause. While that innings was brilliant, and it was because of her that India were in the game at the halfway stage, the truth is that it was just one effort in five matches. Had she played a similar knock against South Africa in Manchester, India could well have been playing the semi-final at The Oval. But when we assess Harmanpreet critically, we must also look at the alternatives. Has Smriti done enough in the big games to convince us that she is ready? She started well against Pakista...

Shreyas Iyer was bowled by Jai Moondra. (PC: BCCI) Lost at Lord’s, beaten in Belfast. That’s how 28 June 2026 will be remembered. Of course, for most Indian supporters, it will go down as one of the darkest days in Indian cricket. The defending ODI World Champions crashed out of the World Cup after losing to Australia. Given how the Women in Blue have fared over the last few years, that defeat did not surprise many. What did, however, was the series defeat to Ireland. Until three days ago, Ireland had never beaten India in international cricket, and now they have whitewashed them. That brought India’s glorious run of 16 consecutive unbeaten T20I series to an end. What the SENA countries could not do, an Irish side did. Remember, they were without as many as three of their six first-choice players, including veterans Paul Stirling and Mark Adair. Jai Moonda, who won the Player of the Series award, made his debut in the first T20I and made a telling impact in both matches. This defeat...

    Image: BCCI, Women Snehasis Mukherjee, London India’s campaign in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 came to an end with yet another group-stage exit. In a must-win final group match against Australia at Lord’s, they suffered a six-wicket defeat and failed to qualify for the semi-finals. More disappointingly, it marked India’s second successive group-stage exit in the tournament, and once again Australia were at the centre of the heartbreak. India began the tournament on a positive note, defeating Pakistan and the Netherlands. But in a group featuring two other strong sides, South Africa and Australia, they knew they had to beat at least one of them to stay in contention. Unfortunately, despite being in control for large parts of the game against South Africa, Harmanpreet Kaur and her side let the match slip away before returning to winning ways against Bangladesh. That left India needing just one more win against Australia at Lord’s to secure a pla...

  Image: BCCI Women Boria Majumdar in London As the dust settles on India’s defeat and we come to terms with yet another T20 World Cup exit, it is important to keep calm and exercise restraint. No one is hurting more than the players, and it is important that we empathise while still asking the tough questions. While there is no need for an over-the-top reaction, this is the time to take stock and introspect. What went wrong, and why does it keep happening to the women’s team in the T20 format? The biggest difference between Australia’s approach and India’s was the fear of failure. Australia played without fear, while India appeared scared of losing. That made Australia aggressive and India defensive. Do Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues have the shots? Absolutely. We have seen them play with freedom on numerous occasions. However, Smriti’s desire to play herself in and both batters’ reluctance to attack early suggested they were trying too hard not to fail. Perhaps, in thi...

India in Belfast (PC: BCCI) India suffered a T20I whitewash against Ireland. After losing the first game by 34 runs, they failed to chase down 155 in the second, with the hosts securing a one-run victory. After suffering home series whitewashes in Tests against New Zealand and South Africa under Gautam Gambhir as head coach, this was another disappointing result. More on that later. Earlier, Jai Moondra bowled a length delivery on middle stump and got the ball to jag back off the seam. Sanju Samson was beaten by the movement and looked plumb. The Indian opener, though, decided to review. Ball-tracking rubber-stamped the on-field umpire’s decision. Samson departed for a golden duck. Yet again, Moondra dismissed the right-handed batter with the first ball. When the ball moves, Samson is usually out of his comfort zone. Inconsistency has been an issue throughout his career, which is one reason why he has played only 64 T20Is despite making his debut in the format 11 years ago. At ...