Unsettled India look to keep campaign alive in Manchester

More than half the group stage is done, and India are potentially one loss away from elimination from the tournament. And more than a month into this tour of England, there is somehow a lack of clarity on the best XI for the conditions. The middle order is witnessing a constant reshuffle, the spin attack has been hampered by Shreyanka Patil's injury, and there is uncertainty about the best pace duo.

A few days ago, Aavishkar Salvi, the Indian bowling coach, had defended the changes as a 'horses for courses' approach. Shafali Verma, on the other hand, offered a more honest confession. 'Jo acha khelega woh team mein rahega (Those who play well will remain in the team),' the Indian opener summed up on the eve of India's fourth group game.

With the fate of world dominance on a knife's edge, Harmanpreet Kaur has evoked the spirit of November 2025 - when India found themselves at a similar stage after three successive losses in the 50-over World Cup. They revived their campaign to storm past three contenders for the world title; and now, they are looking to go past four.

It's neither unknown territory for the team to step into, nor, to their luck, a distant memory. The same core - if not the same players - is tasked to do an encore, but this time, in slightly more unfamiliar conditions of England.

After a day's break following the loss against South Africa, the team engaged in a long team bonding activity - which also included Smriti Mandhana bowling and Renuka Thakur attempting to hit sixes; neither of which were displays necessarily missed by those who did.

But now their revival journey starts at Old Trafford, the same venue where all three departments fell short of displaying their best game three days ago, hurting their qualification chances. Their first challengers are Bangladesh, who after clinching two wins in three games, are as much a part of this must-win race to qualify and are more excited coming into the contest following their win against Pakistan.

While the clash against Australia may be the big looming threat to their campaign, India can ill-afford a slip-up on Thursday. They would much rather carry their caravan nervously to London than put their campaign to rest in Manchester.

When: Thursday, June 25, 2026, 2:30 PM Local Time/ 7:00 PM IST

Where: India vs Bangladesh, Match 23, Old Trafford, Manchester

What to expect: It's fairly hot in Manchester, and it's expected to get hotter on match day - temperatures that wouldn't be too unfamiliar for either team. The match will be played on the same surface where India played South Africa.

Team News

India: Radha Yadav has been prolific against Bangladesh, but she hasn't got her chances as yet in the XI in this World Cup. With Shafali Verma proving a reliable sixth bowling option, India might be tempted to bring Radha back into the XI. Meanwhile, Jemimah Rodrigues, who had a long session against India's pace quartet, could potentially be pushed back to No 3.

Probable XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Yastika Bhatia/Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shree Charani, Nandni Sharma

Bangladesh: On what's expected to be a relatively slow surface, they will look to continue with their winning combination

Probable XI: Dilara Akter, Juairiya Ferdous, Sharmin Akhter, Nigar Sultana, Sobhana Mostary, Ritu Moni, Shorna Akter, Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, Shanjida Akter, Marufa Akter

Did you know?

- Deepti Sharma is one wicket away from becoming the leading wicket-taker in Women's internationals

- Radha Yadav has dismissed Nigar Sultana four times in five T20I innings

- Harmanpreet Kaur needs 17 runs to become the first Indian batter to score 500 T20I runs against Bangladesh

What they said:

"Whenever there is a bad day as a team, we know that the morale of the entire team will be down. But the next day, everyone knows that we need to come together and motivate each other. So yesterday, we spoke about it in the huddle - we know it's a crucial game, but we will back each other. We will give our best in preparation over the next two days. We will take it day by day" - Shafali Verma

"The next two games are going to be very hard - against India and South Africa. We have won two matches, so if we win the next two games, we will go to the semifinal, for which we are looking forward." - Sobhana Mostary