Durban, April 16 (IANS) India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Thursday backed young seam-bowling all-rounder Kashvee Gautam to make a significant impact in the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, describing her as a talented player who can do really well for the team.
With the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup happening in June, India have opted for a pace-heavy attack to excel in South African conditions. Kashvee is in the line to get a T20I debut after playing ODIs and a Test in Australia this year, especially with fellow seam-bowling all-rounder Amanjot Kaur nursing a back injury.
Kashvee has been part of the Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and picked 19 scalps in 18 games so far. She also gave a good account of herself with the bat – seen from hitting 43 in the ODI in Brisbane and an unbeaten 34 in the one-off Test in Perth.
“Kashvee is someone who is very talented. She can contribute with both batting and bowling and she is a great fielder also. So, having these kind of players, it’s very important. Bringing her to the T20 cricket, it’s very important because now as Aman is not here and she is someone who can do really well for the team.
“So, I think this is very important series for all the young players who haven’t played much international cricket. But giving them opportunity here will make a lot of difference for us,” Harmanpreet said, while replying to a query from IANS in the pre-series press conference.
Addressing the exclusion of left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma, Harmanpreet clarified that Amanjot’s absence meant certain combinations had to be changed for this tour starting in Durban on Friday.
“As far as Vaishnavi is concerned, Aman’s presence covers a lot of other things. But because Aman is injured now, she is not available and whatever changes we have done for this tour, we did. It’s not like Vaishnavi is not here now, and then she is out of our plans.
“The only thing is, when you come to South Africa, you have to go with at least four medium pacer options because the pitches are different here. But if you play in India, you can always cut down one pacer and go with extra spinner. So, if Vaishnavi is not there, that doesn’t mean she is not part of our scheme.
“But the only thing is, whatever changes we have made, it’s only about the team combination and the conditions over here. But, I mean, if we talk about left-arm spinners, Charani is doing really well and she is taking the responsibility for the team,” she explained.
Harmanpreet expressed confidence in her existing spin battery to deliver. “Apart from that, Shreyanka did really well. So, we already have, spin bowling attack, who are already playing in the eleven and they are contributing really well. Deepti has always been in the team.
“But the only thing is, now we have to cover our medium-pace side. That’s why we have brought Kashvee in the team. So, whatever calls we have taken, it’s only about the combination of the team and how the team can do better in South African conditions with this combination. So, according to that, we have taken the calls.”
The captain also touched upon retaining Uma Chetry as the second wicketkeeper-batter over youngster G Kamalini. “See, we brought Kamalini in the team earlier, but unfortunately, that time she got injured.
“But then Uma Chetry came to the team and after that we wanted to continue with the same wicket-keeper. We didn’t want to try again and again. Kamalini is fit right now, but she is going to play in domestic cricket and again, we will see how things go in the future,” she added.
On the inclusion of right-handed batter Anushka Sharma, who had a productive time with the bat in WPL 2026 and in India A winning Asia Cup Women’s Rising Stars title, Harmanpreet said, “I think she is a great talent. She did really well in WPL. Wherever she got the opportunity, especially in domestic cricket also, she did really well.
“She is an all-rounder who can always contribute with the ball also. So, I mean, exciting talent and that’s why we wanted to bring her here and give some experience. I think South Africa is a team who are very competitive and teams like that, when you do well, you always get a lot of confidence. So, the main idea was to bring her here and give some games so that she can get some experience before the World Cup.”
Buoyed by their 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup win, Harmanpreet believes the squad is in peak physical and mental shape to aim at adding the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup title to their kitty. “I think after the ODI World Cup, the team is looking quite confident. Wherever we are going, we are going with full confidence and we have seen that when playing against Australia.
“The team is looking in good shape. Before the World Cup, the South Africa series is very important for us. Hopefully, here also we will play our best cricket. I think it’s a great opportunity for us before the World Cup for all to come together and play our best cricket. I think we want to take this opportunity very seriously and want to play very good cricket over here,” she said.
Recognizing the challenge posed by Laura Wolvaardt’s side, Harmanpreet lauded the Proteas as a balanced outfit that has consistently reached the final stages of global tournaments, adding that their quality all-rounders present a good challenge to top teams. In the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, India and South Africa are placed in the same group.
“I feel South Africa team is quite a balanced side. They have very good players and good all-rounders who always come up when the team needs. So I think in T20 format, you always need good all-rounders and they have really good ones. They have been playing really good cricket for the last four or five years.
“Every time they’re reaching to the finals and doing really well and playing good competitive cricket. I mean, that’s why we wanted to play against them before the World Cup because you always get good confidence when you do well against good teams. So South Africa is one of the teams we always rate very high and hopefully here we will play our best cricket.”
The primary objective for the series in South Africa, according to Harmanpreet, is to ensure the entire squad is battle-ready. “I think giving opportunity to all the players (we are looking to achieve) because before the World Cup, these series are very important, where all the players should be given equal opportunities so that when we enter the World Cup, we should feel we are ready with all the players.
“I think these five matches are very important. Hopefully, we will try to give equal opportunity to everyone. At the same time, obviously, we are here to win and hopefully, we will give our best,” she concluded.
–IANS
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