Harmanpreet Kaur leads out the team during game two of the Women’s One Day International series between Australia and India at Bellerive Oval on February 27, 2026 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo/Getty Images)
However, India dropped Fulmali from the team after just one innings in the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup where there campaign ended in the group stage. The former coach of the women’s team also emphasized that India should look at the Asia Cup as a tournament where they begin preparation for the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup after their unceremonious group-stage exit in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Because they’ve shown a lot of enthusiasm, they’ve shown they’ve got some real good talent there, and you cannot take them lightly, too, “Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be tough competition for India, and let’s not also discount Thailand,. India have been missing two of their pace-bowling all-rounders, Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam, for over five months, and just before the Asia Cup they faced another setback as Jemimah Rodrigues was also ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.
India have won seven of the nine Women’s Asia Cup editions played so far, across ODI and T20I formats, making them the most successful team in the history of the tournament.
Given the historic dominance of the Indian team in the tournament, former India cricketer and ex-women’s team coach WV Raman believes anything less than a title in the upcoming 2026 Women’s Asia Cup would be a “major disappointment” for Harmanpreet Kaur ‘s team. As far as the Indian team is concerned, I think anything less than a victory will be seen as a major disappointment,” Raman said in an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com, organised by Sony Sports Network. India lost the 2024 Women’s Asia Cup final to Chamari Athapaththu’s Sri Lanka by eight wickets in Dambulla, and Raman said “India can regain the Asia Cup” in Dubai.
However, the road ahead is not as smooth for India as it seems.
