Australia and India from Group A will advance to the next stage: Poonam Yadav

Indian women’s team were close to clinching the T20 World Cup trophy in 2020 but were outclassed by Australia in the finals. As the ninth edition of the event is scheduled to commence on October 3, India see themselves placed in Group A along with Australia New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. They will be playing their first T20 World Cup 2024 game against two-time champions New Zealand on October 4. 

They will face the six-time champions Australia on October 13. As the group is filled with cricketing giants, former India cricketer, Poonam Yadav has termed Australia as the formidable opponent and also predicted that India along with Australia will enter the next stage of the tournament. Sri Lanka are the reigning champions of the Asia Cup and Yadav said they will be eager to perform their best.  

"I think Australia and India from our group will advance to the next stage, with Australia being a formidable opponent. India's performance in T20Is over the past two years has been impressive, with strong batting, bowling, and fielding. The team combination looks excellent, but Australia will undoubtedly pose a significant challenge. Sri Lanka will also be eager to defeat India again, though India has a history of success against them at the World Cup level,” said Yadav speaking to Star Sports.

Also Read: Harmanpreet Kaur exudes confidence ahead of Women's T20 World Cup

“The match against Pakistan will be intriguing, but I am confident we will win. As for New Zealand, we played them in the same pool in 2018, and we defeated all the teams except Sri Lanka. Although we lost in the semi-finals, I believe our current team combination, positive environment, and Shafali Verma's crucial role will help us succeed. Her ability to quickly score 60-70 runs in the first six overs can put the opposition on the back foot, and I hope she continues to play this role,” she added.

India’s squad for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024:

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk)*, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil*, Sajana Sajeevan.

*Subject to fitness clearance

Travelling Reserves: Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor

Non-Travelling Reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra