'Smriti And Shafali Were...': Aakash Chopra Lists Multiple Reasons Behind India's Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Exit

Women's T20 World Cup 2026: It was heartbreak for India as Harmanpreet Kaur-led side lost against Australia and were out of the marquee event. The women in blue could not get past the group stage as they were beaten by South Africa and Australia. Now that their campaign has come to an end, the knives are out. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has pointed multiple reasons that led to the debacle. Questioning the intent, Aakash reckoned Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma scoring at a run-a-ball in the powerplay backfired. Chopra also feels the Indian women's cricket team is not the fittest bunch and they need to do something about that as well. 

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‘Team will have to become fitter’

"This team will have to become fitter. There are many factors in fitness. It includes your ground coverage, running between the wickets, and catching, because fitness and fielding go together. Then you need the power as well to hit sixes. If you have to compete and keep getting better in T20 cricket, fitness is my prime priority, and fielding is attached to that. Those are two things you can do yourself," Chopra said.

"A little intent will have to be shown in batting. If you leave one or two players, it seems like we are still behind. We don't play with freedom. You lost against both Australia and South Africa because the batting let you down. The intent is not visible. Against Australia, wickets weren't falling, but you weren't hitting. Smriti and Shafali were going at a run-a-ball. No one was trying to hit," he added.

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Following the loss, captain Harman lauded the bowlers while blaming the batters for not living up to expectations.