Team Trailblazers: Complete Squad Analysis for Women’s T20 Challenge 2020

The Trailblazers side has been one of the two teams, the other being Supernovas, to feature in the original edition of the tournament. After their narrow defeat against Supernovas in the inaugural edition, they failed to make it to the finals of the previous edition owing to an inferior net run rate. The captain, Smriti Mandhana, will want to make the right moves this year as they look forward to featuring in the finals this time around.

The players who will be representing the Trailblazers side are as follows:

Smriti Mandhana (Captain)

The Trailblazers side will be led by Smriti Mandhana, who has an excellent batting record in this format. Aged 24 years, the Indian vice-captain has played 75 T20Is with 1716 runs to her name. With a strike rate of just under 120, she is a good striker of the ball. She is very adaptable in playing to the situation of the game with the ability to accelerate and accumulate whenever it is required. Having made 12 T20I half-centuries, she can build long innings and single-handedly take the game away from the opposition as she had shown in the last season, scoring 90 of 67 balls and winning the game against the Supernovas in the opening game.

Deepti Sharma (vice-captain)

The immensely talented Deepti Sharma will fill the role of the vice-captain of the Trailblazer’s side. Playing 48 T20Is, she is a regular in the Indian T20I setup, having a very good record as an all-rounder. She is a capable middle-order batter having 423 runs to her name with a high score of 49 not out. She also provides an excellent spin option, having taken 53 wickets in T20Is at an average of under 20 runs with the best figures of 4 wickets for just 10 runs against the West Indies last year. Last year, she did not have a good run with the bat, but made it up with her bowling, taking 4 wickets for 14 runs against Velocity.

Punam Raut

In the international side as a T20 opener, Punam Raut has not had many opportunities due to severe competition in the top order but she has flourished whenever given a chance. In 35 T20Is that she has played, she has scored 719 runs with 4 half-centuries in the format, including her highest score of 75 against Bangladesh. She featured in the ODI side against West Indies last year but has not played T20Is since 2014. Not being a part of this competition last year, this will be the first time that she might get to play in this tournament.

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Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Having played just 28 T20Is so far, this left-arm spinner can fill in a few overs in the middle while remaining capable enough to take wickets. She has picked up 35 wickets in T20Is at an average of under 20 runs with the best figures of 3 wickets for 17 runs. She featured in the Women’s World T20 in Australia this year where she picked up 5 wickets in 5 games. She was also part of the Trailblazers side last year and took 3 wickets from the 2 games. She will look forward to another impressive outing this year.

Jhulan Goswami

Having been a part of the Indian side since 2002, Jhulan Goswami is one of the most experienced players in the squad. Having played 68 T20Is picking up 56 wickets, she will be the frontline seamer for Trailblazers. She is no stranger to this role, having taken the best figures of 5 wickets for only 11 runs. She has played as many as 182 ODIs, which makes her very experienced in the limited-overs format. Trailblazers will look to draw from this wealth of experience during the course of the tournament.

Salma Khatun

Aged 32 years, Bangladeshi all-rounder Salma Khatun will have an important role to play in the side. Having played 74 T20Is for Bangladesh, she has scored over 500 runs with the bat with a high score of an unbeaten 49 runs. With the ball, she is even more dangerous, having taken 66 wickets with the best figures of 4 wickets for just 6 runs. She played in the Women’s World T20 earlier this year and was one of the stand-out performers of the side, picking up 6 wickets from 4 games including 3 wickets for just 7 runs against New Zealand leading to New Zealand collapsing for 91 all out. This will be her first appearance in this competition.

Sophie Ecclestone

Playing as a frontline spinner for the England side, this 21-year-old will be expected to emulate her role for the Trailblazers side as well. A wicket-taker in every sense, she is threatening with the ball, having taken 56 wickets in 39 T20Is at a remarkable average of just over 15 runs. She has one four-for to her name, having taken 4 wickets for 18 runs. Not only is she an accomplished spinner, she has had valuable match practice since international cricket began after the pandemic, having played in the recently-concluded T20I series against West Indies at home. She will look forward to having a successful stint with the Trailblazers this year.

Nattakan Chantam

Nattakan Chantam is Thailand’s opening batter and made waves in the Women’s World T20 with an impressive showing with the bat. Having played 38 T20Is to date, she has scored 700+ runs under her belt with 3 half-centuries to her credit. She got a start against a strong England side in the World T20, making 32 runs, before scoring a half-century in her most recent game, a rain-affected game against Pakistan. This tournament represents a great opportunity to play with some big names and hone her skills even further.

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Deandra Dottin

This experienced West Indian all-rounder is an aggressive batter and has immense power in her strokes to clear any ground. Playing as many as 118 T20Is, she has scored over 2500 runs and scores these runs at a very fast pace, as evident by her records. Her century in 38 balls against South Africa in 2010 remains the fastest century in Women’s T20Is to date while her half-century in 22 balls in 2009 against a team like Australia is among the fastest half-centuries in this format. With 2 centuries and 12 half-centuries, she is capable of building an innings and taking the game away from her opposition. She is as fearsome with the ball, having taken 61 wickets in T20Is with a strike rate of under 20 and the best figures of 5 wickets for just 5 runs. After having failed at the Women’s World T20, she found some form recently, scoring 2 half-centuries against England in September.

Dayalan Hemalatha

A regular in the Indian ‘A’ side, Dayalan Hemalatha provides a decent spin option for the side. She has played 7 T20Is to date taking 5 wickets. She was a part of the India A side that traveled to Australia at the end of last year, scoring a couple of 20s in the three games and also picked up 2 wickets. She was also part of the Trailblazer’s side last year but did not have any significant contribution to strengthen her case.

Nuzhat Parween (wicket-keeper)

Nuzhat Parween has been in the India A side but has not got an opportunity at the international level, with the selectors sticking to the regular keeper, Taniya Bhatia. However, Nuzhat Parween has ample talent, as was on display last year in India A tour of Australia where she scored 2 forties in 3 games. She will be playing in this tournament for the first time this year and will be eager to showcase her credentials to be considered again at the international level.

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Harleen Deol

Harleen Deol showed promise in the last season, scoring 36 runs in the opening game against Supernovas and another 43 runs against Velocity. She is very talented and will look forward to displaying her skills playing for the Trailblazers side.

Richa Ghosh, Simran Bahadur, and Kashvee Gautam round out the rest of the squad.

With marquee players like Deandra Dottin, Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Jhulan Goswami, and the captain herself, Trailblazers have a strong core in all departments. They also have some talented youthful players who will be looking to step up and contribute as they look forward to booking a final berth this time around.

Image Credit: IPL

This article was published first on Female Cricket. Views expressed are the author's own.