Trust Shafali Verma, bowler: Nasser Hussain offers ‘safety valve’ to India’s balance problem in Women’s T20 World Cup

Shafali Verma (2nd from left) with teammates. (Photo Credit: BCCI) It was in England in 2017, the occasion was the semi-final of the ODI World Cup and the opponents were Australia’s Meg Lanning. Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 171 changed the course of women’s cricket and remains one of the most important innings in Indian cricket history.India are in England again, this time for the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026. Harmanpreet Kaur now leads the team as the World Cup winning captain after leading India to their first ODI World Cup title in Navi Mumbai last year.The ambition is another trophy, this time at Lord’s on July 5, and India begin their campaign against Pakistan on Sunday. In addition to Pakistan, it also features Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. Bharti Fulmali’s return boosted India’s firepower. After making two appearances in 2019, she spent seven years away from the national team before forcing her way back with some great performances in the WPL. Among Indian batsmen who have scored at least 250 runs in the 2025 and 2026 editions, only Richa Ghosh has recorded a faster strike than Fulmali’s 159.5.Batting depth is not a big issue in India. The bowling attack also has experience and variety through Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Kranti Goud and Shree Charani. The bigger issue is balance, with India first having to sort out the selection conundrum created by injuries to Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam. The absence of both the bowling all-rounders has left India lacking balance and forced a debate on whether they should strengthen the batting or add another bowling option.If Amanjot or Kashvee were fit, India could field a seam-bowling all-rounder alongside two front-line pacers while maintaining depth in both batting and spin. Their absence leaves a gap that is difficult to fill and could force India to choose between strengthening the batting or adding another specialist bowler.Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes India should lean towards batting depth.

Team India cricketers (Pic credit: BCCI)

Speaking at JioStar Media Day, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup expert Nasser Hussain said: “Personally, I would play extra batting. I would bundle the batting. I would use Shafali – remember in the World Cup final after 50, Shafali came on. She wasn’t even in the original line-up and then there is when I ran and used the safety valves. women’s game, four of the top six, seven bowlers spin.”Hussain said the nature of women’s cricket, particularly T20 cricket, makes spin a more valuable resource than bowling.“England have three spinners in the top six. So spin to win in women’s cricket, especially in T20 cricket,” Hussain said when asked TimesofIndia.com.The former England captain suggested that India rely on their spin options, play only two seamers and strengthen the batting unit instead.“I would play all my spinners, not all, but if you ask me about balance, a few spinners and all my batting.However, Hussain cautioned that such a strategy would require a more aggressive approach with the bat.“But if you’re going to do that, you have to go hard. If you go back to the 50-over World Cup, India had the same problem at the start. They played an extra shot but were still a bit cautious.”“Then all of a sudden it clicked, they went harder and backed off. Jemimah got that amazing hundred in the semi-final. Shafali gave them another bowling option in the final.”According to Hussain, if India picks up the extra dough, it cannot afford to settle for nominal amounts.“If you’re going to go with an extra bat, you have to score above par because you know your bowling is a little bit light. You can’t just rush to par. You have to score above par and play fearless cricket. From what I’ve seen in India so far on this tour, they’ve done that.”(Catch all the action from ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, June 12-July 5, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network)