India head coach Amol Muzumdar has backed Harmanpreet Kaur to continue as captain despite India’s early exit from the Women’s T20 World Cup. On Sunday, June 28, India suffered a six-wicket defeat to Sophie Molineux’s Australia in their first-ever Women’s T20I at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.

After the loss, Muzumdar was asked whether India would stick with Harmanpreet at the helm. While he said the final call rests with the selectors, the former India domestic stalwart made it clear that he would like to see the experienced batter continue in the role.

“Do you expect Harmanpreet to remain as captain,” the journalist asked. “It’s up to the selectors to decide the captain. My short and sweet answer would be yes,” Amol Muzumdar replied at the post-match press conference.

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Looking back at India’s campaign, Muzumdar said the team need to improve in bowling, fielding and their overall batting intent if they are to challenge the best sides more consistently. He felt India could have added 15-20 more runs against Australia, which may have given them a better cushion in a knockout game.

“If I have to pinpoint the key areas from the entire tournament, I think we really need to work on our bowling and fielding. We also need to be a little more aggressive with the bat. Maybe we could have had an extra 15-20 runs as a cushion,” he said.

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Muzumdar also pointed to the relative inexperience of India’s bowling attack at the international level, but remained optimistic about its long-term growth. “Having said that, if you look at our bowling attack, it’s still very inexperienced at the international level. I’ve said this before as well, give us 18 months and this bowling attack will be a very different one,” Amol Muzumdar added.

India began the tournament with convincing wins over Pakistan and the Netherlands before losing to South Africa in Manchester. They stayed alive by beating Bangladesh at Old Trafford, but in a must-win semifinal against Australia, India could only manage 170/4. Australia chased the target with five balls to spare, ending Harmanpreet Kaur’s side’s campaign.