Dropping Jemimah against England to not playing Renuka vs Aussies: Tactical mistakes India have so far in 2025 World Cup

India’s key tactical mistakes in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup so far. (Photo: X)

Team India’s campaign in the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is now under tremendous pressure, with only two wins in five games. After three consecutive defeats, the upcoming clashes against New Zealand and Bangladesh have become must-win matches to stay alive in the race for the semifinals.

But across these five games, several tactical and selection decisions have backfired. Those calls have had a big impact on match results — and the Women in Blue have paid the price.

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Dropping Jemimah Rodrigues while continuing with Harleen Deol against England

Against England, India opted for six bowling options, which made sense given the team’s balance. However, to make room for an extra bowler, the management decided to drop Jemimah Rodrigues instead of Harleen Deol.

Harleen’s inability to convert starts into big scores and her lower strike rate have been ongoing concerns. Jemimah, on the other hand, has the ability to play the no.3 role fluently and anchor innings.

Also Read | Lead, don’t just captain: Harmanpreet Kaur’s biggest challenge awaits against New Zealand

Not playing Renuka Singh Thakur against Australia

After the loss to South Africa, there were loud calls for India to include a sixth bowling option. Yet against Australia, they again went in with just five bowlers — a move that backfired badly when they failed to defend 330 runs.

Renuka Singh Thakur’s inswingers could have been a genuine threat to Australia’s openers, Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield. Her omission looked even more surprising considering her record against top-order batters.

Not willing to flexible the top five against Australia

When Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal added 155 runs for the opening stand against Australia, India were in a perfect position to accelerate. But once that partnership ended, the management stuck to the same batting order instead of promoting an in-form batter like Richa Ghosh or someone like Jemimah Rodrigues.

After that defeat, head coach Amol Muzumdar stated in the post-match press conference that the team did not want to tinker with the top five, believing that every batter has the ability to score in all situations. However, that rigid approach cost India valuable momentum at a time when flexibility could have changed the game.

Questionable field placements

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has faced criticism for her defensive field settings during crucial moments. Against Australia, she did not keep a slip when Ellyse Perry edged one early off Deepti Sharma — a chance that could have changed the course of the innings

The same mistake was repeated against England’s Heather Knight, who went on to score a century. Even during South Africa’s and Australia’s chase, easy singles were often allowed, meaning the pressure never built up from one end. These lapses in strategy have hurt India repeatedly.

Giving Charani the last over against England

Perhaps the most debated moment came during the match against England when Harmanpreet handed the final over to young spinner N Shree Charani.

With bowlers like Renuka Singh Thakur and Kranti Gaud still having two overs left, the call left everyone puzzled. Charani had already conceded 57 runs in nine overs, and the pressure of bowling the last over against set batters proved too much. She gave away 11 runs, allowing England to finish at 288, which eventually turned out to be the difference.