India won the Women’s Asia Cup easily. But have they really solved their problems?

When India flew to Dubai in a bid to win their eighth Women’s Asia Cup, they were huge favorites to win it all. And that’s exactly what they did, in typically dominant fashion.

India started their campaign with a 94-run victory over Thailand and barely took their foot off the pedal against the rest of the opposition. Pakistan were not spared either, scoring just 55, while Hong Kong China could only manage 56 as the Indian trio of Sree Charani, Deepti Sharma and Prema Rawat spun a web around the batters.

with a bat Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma led the chargethe opening pair set the tone for most of India’s victories. Shafali finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 236 runs, while Mandhana was close behind with 213.

Deepti took 14 wickets to top the bowling charts, followed by Charani with 12. Regardless of what happened in the final and the ceremonythe numbers paint a picture of an India that is simply going through the competition.

But the bigger picture tells a different story.

India arrived in Dubai after a disappointing World T20 campaign in England, where they entered as one of the favorites but failed to live up to expectations. The Asia Cup was supposed to be a chance to put some of those issues into perspective, fine-tune the combination and prepare for the next T20 World Cup and the LA Olympics.

Instead, as India leaves Dubai and turns its attention to the Asian Games, some nagging questions remain.

PALÍRIAN ORDINARY WEST

While Mandhana and Shafali have been in royal touch, the same cannot be said for the rest of the Indian batting unit. The absence of Jemimah Rodrigues left a significant hole at No.3 and India never quite managed to fill it convincingly.

Pratika Rawal, who impressed during India’s Women’s World Cup triumph last year, has been given the role. However, Rawal is not naturally seen as the type of aggressive batsman who can immediately put bowlers under pressure or start a counter-attack.

This became more and more evident during the Asia Cup.

Rawal managed just 56 runs in four matches at an average of 14 and a strike rate of 98.24. She was eventually eliminated for the finale and Kamalini was sidelined.

But the problem at No. 3 didn’t start in Dubai.

During the T20 World Cup, the team management experimented with Yastika Bhatia in the role, moving Jemimah down the order before eventually bringing her back. They then tried to shuffle the position between Jemimah and Harmanpreet Kaur but again struggled to find a solution.

Harmanpreet came on at No. 3 in the Asia Cup final but could only manage 14 off 14 balls.

And the problems weren’t just limited to No. 3. They stretched across the batting order.

After the opening two matches, the third highest run scorer for India was Harmanpreet who scored 71 runs. India also seemed to have little in the finishing department apart from Richa Ghosh.

With Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam struggling with injuries, Ghosh is increasingly becoming the player expected to deliver big hits lower down the order.

But she too had a quiet tournament, managing just 49 runs in five matches with two fours and three sixes. Bharti Fulmali, who was expected to share some of the finishing responsibilities, scored just 17 runs in five matches and looked completely out to sea with the bat.

If India are serious about closing the gap between the world’s best sides in women’s T20Is, they need to find answers quickly. The batting cannot continue to depend so heavily on Mandhana and Shafali to provide the fireworks at the top.

SPIN BUT WHAT HEAT?

Dubai will never be an ideal place for fast bowlers to dominate. The conditions were always expected to be favorable for spin and that is exactly how the tournament played out.

Indian spinners prospered. But the pace department left a few questions behind.

Nandani Sharma impressed, picking up seven wickets in five matches. However, Kranti Gaud only managed two wickets and India looked at times without an experienced leader in the pace attack.

Renuka Singh was part of the squad but did not play a single match after failing to find form ahead of the Asian Games.

India can certainly look at Nandani and Kranti as long-term options, both of whom can grow into leaders in the attack. But for now, they still need an experienced fast bowler who can provide timely breakthroughs and ensure that the entire bowling burden does not fall on the spin department.

The Asia Cup showed how dangerous Indian spinners can be.

It also became apparent that he might not have enough answers with the new ball.

POINTS IN THE FIELD

India’s commitment was never consistently in doubt.

There have been moments of brilliance from the likes of Jemimah, Radha Yadav and others over the years, but the Asia Cup served as yet another reminder of how much work remains to be done.

India lost as many as 12 wickets in five matches. This is simply unacceptable in T20 cricket.

They may have escaped without paying a heavy price in Dubai because of the difference in quality between India and some of the other sides in the competition. However, against a stronger opponent, these missed chances could change the course of matches.

And India knows this better than most.

The next T20 World Cup will not be so forgiving.

India will now return home for a short break before flying to Japan to defend their Asian Games gold. They will go into the tournament as favorites again.

But the Asian Games can’t just be about adding another gold medal to the cabinet.

It must be another opportunity to find answers.

India won the Women’s Asia Cup with ease. But the title did not erase the questions about the batting order, the tempo of the attack and their placement.

If these issues remain unaddressed, another Asian Games gold could simply end up covering the cracks that are slowly starting to widen.

And sooner or later, India will face an opponent strong enough to expose each of them.

– The end

Published on:

15 Sep 2026 07:49 IST