Could Amanjot be the missing piece in India's white-ball puzzle?

The Hindu

4 days ago

When the lights are at their brightest, the Indian women's cricket team has always danced on the edge of glory. Sometimes it managed to withstand intense pressure without a scratch, and at other times it found itself in quicksand. At Lord's in 2017, it was a partnership away from the trophy. Similar stories made headlines in 2014, 2016, 2020, and, more recently, in 2024 as well.
While setbacks are the testament of sporting events, they also offer a mirror for self-reflection and introspection. Countless deep dives into India's losses often pointed to a deficiency in depth. Too often, the burden of taking the team home rested on the shoulders of just a few.
The Indian team of the present operates in the age of all-rounders. Look at Australia's stacked multi-skilled player piles. From Ellyse Perry to Annabel Sutherland, these women not only contribute across departments but also have the nerve to tilt games favourably.
Nagging issue
For India, this has been a nagging issue. The setup has, for a long time, struggled to flood the team with players who can strike with the ball and score valuable runs, and, most importantly, do so consistently.
Among the several other positives in India's recent white-ball series win against England was the emergence of one such all-rounder who could hold the key to the balance issues the India XI faces — Amanjot Kaur.
Born in Chandigarh, the country's powerhouse for hockey players, the 25-year-old chose to ditch tradition to pursue her calling. Her cricketing journey began early, when she played the game in the streets with older boys from the neighbourhood. Her father, a carpenter by profession, was hesitant to let her play cricket. It was Amanjot's grandmother who took her to practice every day.
'My grandmother was very supportive. She used to accompany me to the ground and wait by the bench,' she said in an interview with Anjum Chopra.
Not long after seeing Amanjot's immense interest in the sport, her father came around and drove her to the academy every day, sometimes even waiting on the sidelines while she practised in the chilling winters of Chandigarh.
She trained under Nagesh Gupta at the Government Model Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh, from the age of 15. That proved pivotal for Amanjot as it was Nagesh who promoted her development as a batter.
She shuttled between Chandigarh and Punjab in her teenage years, eventually making her debut for the latter in the 2017-2018 season. Following that, she shifted to the former for the 2019-2020 campaign before making her way back to Punjab for the 2022-2023 season to challenge herself in a squad that featured India internationals like Harmanpreet Kaur and Taniya Bhatia.
Amanjot proved that she was very much up to the task, emerging as Punjab's top run-getter in the senior women's T20 tournament, with 192 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 105.49.
The opportunity to make a case for herself as a conventional batter came against Himachal, when she opened the innings for Punjab and made her mark.
'Being an all-rounder is bliss for me. If batting doesn't go well, then while I'm bowling, I have six balls to prove. Even if two balls go for six, there are still four more balls,' she said.
She earned her national call-up in 2023, making her debut in the first match of the tri-series against South Africa in East London. She seized the day with her batting prowess, leaving an immediate mark by scoring an unbeaten 41 (30 balls) while batting at no. 7.
It was a time when players worldwide were giving their final auditions to make the national squads for the T20 World Cup in South Africa. Amanjot was practical and focused on each day as it came.
She scored an unbeaten 41 in 30 balls, the second-highest score in women's cricket for India on T20I debut. Amanjot helped India get a fairly decent 147 for the loss of six wickets on the board, heartening given India lost three early wickets.
Since then, Amanjot has featured in nine T20Is and 16 WODIs, happy to float around the batting order and eager to prove that she is also a bowler who can make an impact in any phase of the game. That she was handy in the field – another Achilles heel for India – only added to her utility.
In the recently concluded T20I series against England, she smashed 63 n.o. off 40 balls while batting at no. 5, including five fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 157. While it was just one match where she displayed her batting aggression, her style is headlined by precise calculation and phlegmatic temperament.
In the second T20I at Bristol, Amanjot, contrary to the previous games where she toggled between no. 6 and no. 7, came in at no. 5 when India was reeling at 35 for three. She took the attack to the English bowlers, smashing three fours off Sophie Ecclestone. Amanjot stitched crucial partnerships with Richa Ghosh and saw India through to 181 for four.
Amanjot's value lies in her adaptability. She can be cautious and steady or aggressive, as required. Her fluency with the bat allows India the luxury of solidity in a shaky middle order.
The genuine all-rounder justifies her title further with her right-arm medium pace bowling during the middle overs to stifle the scores and break partnerships. But Amanjot in the England series has a commendable batting record that stood better than her bowling figures, barring her ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2023, when she added four wickets for 31 runs in her spell.
In Pooja Vastrakar's absence, Amanjot has emerged as someone who could fill in with bat and ball.
Similarities
While she is still in the early years of her career and Perry, on the contrary, is an established player, there are similarities between the two that make Amanjot the answer to India's quest for someone like the Australian, who can add the necessary depth and provide a strong middle order in the line-up. But the echoes of one of the greatest all-rounders in recent ages come alive a little every time Amanjot dons the role of both a batter and a bowler, and does so with grace.
While Amanjot might not yet have numbers to make the headlines at the moment, every once in a while, when a new player emerges, the skill of the mind and the body ought to be identified, trained and appreciated at the dawn of their career.
And the comparisons to Perry? It might seem lofty now. But if Amanjot keeps her pace, maybe, just maybe, there will come a day when we will ask, 'Could she be the next Perry?'