Shantha says time for Kaur to review captaincy, Diana calls for introspection

Former skipper Shantha Rangaswamy feels the time has come for Harmanpreet Kaur to take a call on her captaincy future as she is much more important to the Indian women's team as a batter than a leader.

Another women's cricket veteran Diana Edulji called for "introspection" following the team's crushing loss in the T20 World Cup final against Australia, while former coach Tushar Arothe slammed the decision to send Tania Bhatia at number three.

The occasion got the better of the Indian team once again as it lost the final by a whopping 85-run margin here on Sunday. Both Shantha and Diana took solace in the performance of 16-year-old opener Shafali Verma and the consistent showing from the bowlers while the star batters disappointed.

"I am very disappointed that such high calibre batters like Smriti, Jemimah, Harman did not click at all. It was a consistent failure of Harman, Smriti, Jemimah and Veda," Shantha told PTI after India's heavy loss in their maiden final.

"Shafali was the only one who made significant contributions while the others just chipped in which is not good enough to win a world title."
"She is getting away right now because of her big-hitting prowess. She will be a much bigger asset with improved fitness."
Meanwhile Arothe, who was the team's coach when it lost to England in the 2017 World Cup final, said, "You cannot send Tania Bhatia at number three as she isn't a big hitter. If you wanted to take advantage of first six overs, send a hitter."