The Indian women’s cricket team might have won the World Cup 2025, but let us be under no delusion, that the challenge might be double-fold, come the T20 World cup 2026 in England, that starts in a few days from now. Harmanpret Kaur will once again lead the side, and just like every tournament, there are visible issues with the side. Yes, their main all-rounders Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam are ruled out due to injuries, but it is the inclusion of Radha Yadav, that really raises the eyebrows.
Just from the very beginning, let us clarify, that this isn’t against a player, but we are only talking about selections here, rather questionable ones from Amita Sharma & Co. Let us get started with the numbers then; Radha is supposed to be an all-rounder, whose numbers don’t really justify that tag. In 89 T20Is, she has picked 103 wickets at an economy of 6.61.
But batting is where the credentials are being questioned. In these encounters, she has only scored 93 runs, with 14 being her highest, at an average of 5.47. Were there no other all-rounders available for selection?
Does Radha Yadav justify a spot in the Indian team?
If one was to ask this question, maybe as a full-time bowler, yes. But when you’re trying to replace all-rounders, her inclusion hardly makes any sense. To top it all, her last T20I match came in July 2025. So, clearly the team moved on, and gave her time to comeback. Her international form wasn’t the best in 2025 as well, where she played 5 matches, and picked up 6 wickets.
| Matches | Wickets | Economy | Runs Scored | Average | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | 103 | 6.61 | 93 | 5.47 | 95.87 |
WPL was also rather ordinary. In 9 matches for RCB, she picked up only 2 wickets, where her average was 74. Batting was a touch better, nothing significant though, where she scored 114 runs, with one fifty, at a strike-rate of 140. Where she did perform though is, the Women’s Asia Cup Rising, scoring 75 runs in 5 matches, and picked up 10 wickets.
| Matches (In WPL 2026) | Wickets | Economy | Runs Scored | Average | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2 | 7.78 | 114 | 22.80 | 140.74 |
But then that series, cannot be the basis for selection. You see, the tournament comprised of India A, Malaysia, UAE, Pakistan, Sri Lanka A, Thailand, and Bangladesh A. These aren’t the teams in women’s cricket, which should be considered much of a competition.
Who could have been picked in place of Radha?
Sayali Satghare: You talk about like-for-like replacements, then where does she fall behind? Sayali Satghare has never been picked in the T20Is, but her WPL form was decent this time around, and could have filled the void left by Amanjot and Kashvee. For RCB, she ended up picking9 wickets in 6 matches, while her batting services weren’t required much.
Shikha Pandey: This is a curious case. She has been out of the Indian setup for 2023, but actively plays in the WPL, WBBL and the WCPL, but isn’t in any sort of reckoning. This year in WPL she picked up 7 wickets in 8 matches, and scored an innings of 23 lower down the order for UPW. In the WCPL she had picked 9 in 9, while in the WBBL, she returned with 12 in 12. Age might definitely not be on her side, but as long as she is fit, what is the harm?
All-in-all, this only raises some serious questions over the current selection, and the lack of depth in the Indian squad. The team might end up reaching far in the tournament, but just to get the ‘balance’ right, an out-of-form player’s selection hardly makes sense.
Cricket
Rohit Sharma won't retire after Lord's ODI, BCCI firmly rubbishes speculations
