Among all active players, no one has scored more runs than Harmanpreet Kaur in the Women’s Cricket World Cup. When playing in the biggest cricket tournament, the Indian captain’s average goes from 37.37 to 51.52, and the strike rate skyrockets from 76.42 to 94.39.
In just 22 innings, Harmanpreet has hit 3 hundreds in the Women’s Cricket World Cup. In her remaining Women’s ODIs (110 innings), the veteran has just 4 centuries. In short, the Indian skipper becomes an all-time great when it comes to the big stage.
She’s been carrying the weight of responsibilities on her shoulders for the last three editions. Despite being at the tail end of her career, expectations from Harmanpreet in a home World Cup are extremely high. But it’s high time someone stepped up to take responsibility.
Eyes on Harleen Deol & Jemimah Rodrigues
In an exclusive interview with InsideSport, former Indian captain Anjum Chopra revealed the 2 batters she thinks should step up in the 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup. But she didn’t end there. For Anjum, two experienced bowlers also need to shoulder some burden.
Fascinatingly, Anjum didn’t name Smriti Mandhana. You might wonder why. Well, because she has been the best ODI batter in the world for a few years now. Her performance in the 2022 edition wasn’t bad, but pale in comparison to Harmanpreet. Anjum expects Mandhana to fire. That’s why she didn’t name her.
“I would say when it matters the most, Harleen Deol and Jemimah Rodrigues should step up,” she told InsideSport.
Jemimah has been one of the best second-highest scorers after Mandhana for India in ODI cricket since 2024. Her role as India’s number five has been clear: to score quickly, and she has been doing that. Harleen, however, hasn’t aced the position as well as one would like. She needs to not just be more consistent but also strike quicker.
| Batter | Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jemimah Rodrigues | 23 | 808 | 123 | 38.47 | 100.49 | 2 | 2 |
| Harleen Deol | 20 | 674 | 115 | 35.47 | 79.85 | 1 | 2 |
2 Indian bowlers to look out for in Women’s Cricket World Cup
On the bowling front, Anjum expects experienced Deepti Sharma to come good along with in-form Sneh Rana. Both have taken the most wickets for India since 2024 in ODIs. Both have wicket-takers and have been economical. Given how much spin rules the roost on Indian pitches, Deepti and Sneh will definitely be the ones to watch out for.
“In the bowling department, my reliance would be on Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana,” Anjum added.
| Bowler | Innings | Overs | Wickets | Best Figures | Average | Economy | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deepti Sharma | 26 | 230.5 | 41 | 6/31 | 26.43 | 4.69 | 33.7 |
| Sneh Rana | 11 | 93.2 | 21 | 5/43 | 22.09 | 4.97 | 26.6 |
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