ICC Women's CWC 2022 | SWOT Analysis: India & Pakistan

It’s almost time! Eight teams will battle it out to be crowned the champions of the world. And here’s a ‘SWOT’ analysis of two of the biggest arch-rivals in world cricket. The Indian Women’s team has never won a World Cup but they have been very close to doing so on two different occasions. They were finalists in 2005 and 2017. Last time around in the final they lost to England and would love to go one step further this time. Meanwhile, their archrivals, Pakistan haven’t had much of a history in the competition, their best-ever finish was reaching the Super-6 stages way back in 2009.

Let’s jump straight to the SWOT analysis of India and Pakistan:-

Team India

Squad: Mithali Raj (captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Raut.

Strength: India’s batting order is one of the most explosive with experienced top-orders going around. Smriti Mandhana averages over 40, while Harmanpreet averages over 34 and Women in Blue’s skipper Mithali Raj has an outstanding average of over 50 in the One-Day format. 

Shafali Verma might not have played a lot of ODI cricket but it is her strike rate at which she bats and her talent that makes her the most spellbinding batter in women’s game.

The quality of Indian spinners is something that always gives them an edge. The World Cup is in New Zealand so the general notion is that pace will play a bigger but this time spin might play an equally important part. A lot of cricket has already been played on these venues during the men's and women's Super Smash and it will surely help the spinner. 

Deepti Sharma was the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded series against New Zealand, picking up 10 wickets in 5 innings. Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Sneh Rana will also be a delightful addition.

All in all, the overall track record of the Indian tweakers is excellent and they will surely play a huge part.

Weakness: Lack of experienced pacers apart from Jhulan Goswami can be a headache for the Indian management heading into the pinnacle tournament. 

Irrespective of the quality of spinners, it’s the pacer that would more daunting in the Island nation. The gamble of dropping Shikha Pandey from the World Cup squad could backfire.

Opportunity: Yastika Bhatia is all set to bat at number 3 for India, the left-handed may be short on experience but she has come in after tonking big runs at domestic and junior levels. 

Apart from her, India’s X-Factor weapon could be Pooja Vastakar. As of now, she carries the tag of a fast-bowling all-rounder but she has all the ingredients to cook up into a genuine all-rounder. Vastakar has it her to hit the deck hard and could hit a long ball. 

This World Cup would be a great opportunity for these youngsters to make an impact to help India win glory.

Threat: India in general lacks power hitters, the openers do bat with a positive strike rate and are explosive up top but apart from Harmanpreet and Vastakar, to an extent, is limited in the Indian setup. 

Team Pakistan 

Squad: Bismah Maroof, Nida Dar, Aiman Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Ameen, Sidra Nawaz.

Strength: The new ball pair of Diana Baig and Anam Amin is one of the most successful story in the history of Pakistan cricket. Only two Pakistan seamers have taken more ODI wickets than them which suggests that they have plenty of experience. 

The return of skipper Bismah Maroof, after almost two years, will give them an added boost. She brings in experience to balance the team with her all-round skills.

Aliya Riaz is another enthralling all-rounder in the team, she is coming into this competition on the back of an excellent 2021. Meaning, the all-round ladies will be the major strength of Women in Green.

Weakness: The major weakness of this Pakistani unit is their inability to stem partnership which disables them to put on par totals on the board. 

Only two Pakistan batters have registered ODI centuries in their history, and only one of them is currently active. The inability of Pakistani batter to pile big runs can haunt them in this global tournament.

Opportunity: Muneeba Ali has enjoyed a good time at the top of the order since January 2021. The left-hander has scored back to back half-centuries in November, last year. She is likely to take her place at the top of the order alongside Javeria Khan, which would be great for Muneeba to prove her worth guiding Pakistan ahead.

Threat: The new-ball pair of Diana Baig and Anam Amin is one of their greatest strength but interestingly enough the threat is the fact that they don’t have a proper out-and-out seamer beyond them. 

Another major threat is who dons the gloves for them. Sidra Nawaz is their go-to keeper but she averages just over 7. And in the modern-day, a keeper must be a good enough batter, at least in the limited-overs format. Muneeba Ali can be an option moving forward but she is not a proper keeper.

These arch-rivals face each other on March 6, 2022, it would the curtain-raiser for both India and Pakistan as well. Both of them would be looking to commence the competition with a win, before cashing more victories heading forward.