Ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, Amanjot Kaur’s injury has offset India’s team balance.
“These three matches will give us more clarity”
A back injury has forced Amanjot out of the upcoming T20 World Cup. “It is not easy to replace Amanjot Kaur because she strengthens all three departments, and is an experienced player as well,” chair of selectors Amita Sharma had said soon India's squad announcement. In the T20Is in South Africa, India had tried to replace Amanjot with Kashvee Gautam – a like-for-like replacement, one may say – but a knee injury has ruled out Gautam as well.
India now have to solve an extremely difficult problem, of finding the right team balance. While not the biggest star of the team, Amanjot is perhaps the most difficult to replace. For other roles, India do have backups, albeit not of the same quality. Even Radha Yadav for Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia for Richa Ghosh will reduce the strengths – but not the balance.
So rare are top-quality seam-bowling all-rounders in India that Amanjot’s injury (and Gautam’s, of course) has forced them to pick not one but three replacements. Nandani Sharma bowls seam and Bharati Fulmali is a power-hitter, but neither is an all-rounder. Radha is an all-rounder, but she bowls spin. Between them, they make one Amanjot Kaur – but the Laws of Cricket leave room for only one.
India’s problem remains unsolved at this point. “We do have a lot of combinations in our mind and let’s see what is working for us,” admitted captain Harmanpreet Kaur to the media ahead of the three-match T20I series in England. “These three matches will give us more clarity going ahead to the T20 World Cup.”
So what can India really do? There is not enough time, and it is important they make the most of the opportunities they get.
Pick the extra batter
Fulmali had not played for India since two outings in 2019, but two exceptional WPL seasons brought her back to the mix. With a 250-run cut-off across WPL 2025 and 2026, only Ghosh (163.8) had scored at a rate quicker than Fulmali’s 159.5. There is also the option of using Bhatia somewhere in the top three (or four) and pushing everyone down by one position.
But since neither Fulmali nor Bhatia bowls, this will mean India going in with a bowler short – and backing the five bowlers to bowl their full quota. That is always a risk, for one of the bowlers may get injured or have an off day.
In South Africa, India tried to get the odd over out of Shafali Verma, but she has bowled her full quota only once in 103 T20Is (twice in all T20) – not the safest option if a bowler breaks down early in her spell. And Harmanpreet seldom chips in with the occasional over the way she used to.
Pick the extra seamer
A gamble no less than the option above. This way, India can have their set of six bowlers. That may seem impressive, but Deepti will be the only bona-fide all-rounder of this pack.
That will result in batting ending at No.6 – a problem that used to hurt them for years (especially outside Asia) until they found a cohort of all-rounders. In a format where scoring is becoming quicker with every year, the hitting ability of the No.7 invariably influences when Nos. 5 or 6 play the high-risk shots.
Replace Amanjot with Radha
Probably the safest option of the three. At the 2026 Asia Cup Rising Stars – a low-scoring tournament overall – she picked up 10 wickets at 8.50, hit 75 runs at 127, and led India A to title win. She is also one of the finest fielders of the squad.
Amita Sharma was clear about why India picked Radha: “Her bowling is in a better rhythm. Experience also matters. In Amanjot’s absence, we needed an all-rounder, hence we added her.” Harmanpreet echoed her opinion: “She is also an all-rounder who can contribute with bat, ball, and on the field. Amanjot’s replacement is hard to find, but we are trying to balance the team with the players available.”
If the choice is unanimous for the people who matter, what is the conundrum? To understand that, one must go back to why she was dropped. Once they found Amanjot (and Gautam), India were happy to pick Shree Charani, their best left-arm spinner, despite her lack of batting credentials. They also tried Vaishnavi Sharma – another left-arm spinner but a tail-ender – even before her WPL debut.
If India pick Radha (along with Deepti), they will almost certainly be forced to leave out Shree Charani: how many spinners can you accommodate in an XI for a World Cup in England?
Leaving out the best spinner is not a happy thought, but there is little India can do about that. Perhaps they will try all three options in the three England T20Is and wait.
