Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Team-Wise one player to watch out for in tournament

2. Smriti Mandhana, India 

India have played remarkably well in the recent ICC tournaments but had no success in winning the trophy. There’s immense pressure on them and the seniors need to take more responsibility in the T20 World Cup. One of them is opening batter Smriti Mandhana. She has been on the national team for over a decade now and it's high time for her to step up and win the tournament.

She is an excellent player of spin, which will be valuable. She has represented India in 141 T20I matches and scored 3493 runs at a strike rate of 122.51. When it comes to the T20 World Cup, Smriti has played 21 matches and scored 449 runs at a strike rate of 118.46. There’s room for improvement and for India to win the tournament, she needs to get better.

1. Ashleigh Gardner, Australia 

Australia have a star-studded squad and anyone out of them can be a match-winner for them in the T20 World Cup. However, Ashleigh Gardner stands out as she has the potential to bag the Player of the Series trophy. Be it with the bat or with the ball, Gardner is a serial match-winner and will be a key player for Australia in the tournament.

The 27-year-old has represented Australia in 90 T20I matches and has scored 1380 runs at a strike rate of 128.85. She also has 72 wickets to her name in the shortest format at an average of 20.56. Just like Ecclestone, her bowling in UAE will be vital given the nature of the conditions and with the bat, she can strike hard in the middle overs.