From Smriti Mandhana to Jhulan Goswami: 5 players who hold key for Mithali Raj's India in ODI World Cup

ICC Women's World Cup: Ahead of the forthcoming showpiece event in New Zealand, here are some key players for Mithali Raj-led India who will be extremely crucial to the team's chances:

Smriti Mandhana will be one of the most-important batters for India in their World Cup campaign. In the last edition of the 50-over World Cup, Smriti had started with a bang, by scoring back-to-back centuries, before going out of form. With more experience under her sleeves now, she will be expected to play the anchor's role in the batting line-up.

Harmanpreet Kaur will be India's X-factor in the forthcoming Women's ODI World Cup. However, she hasn't been in great form with only two fifty-plus scores in the last ten innings. She, however, signed off India's forgettable ODIs versus New Zealand with an attacking 63. Is this the start of something special from her ahead of the showpiece event?

Mithali Raj is not only is the captain of the ship but also their most experienced batter and dons the role of an enabler in the batting line-up. In the last World Cup, she had ended with second-most runs overall, one shy from the top run-getter, along with 2 fifties and a hundred. Playing her last mega event, she will be eager to lead from the front -- both as captain and batter.

Poonam Yadav has the experience and variations to trouble most batswomen in the forthcoming ODI World Cup. In the last edition, she had been India's second-highest wicket-taker with 11 wickets. In the last ICC event in the women's category, Poonam was India's highest wicket-taker (10) in the 2020 T20 World Cup. Thus, she has a knack for performing in big-ticket events. She will be expected to take wickets in middle overs and also curtail the run-flow.

Jhulan Goswami is also gearing up for her last ICC tournament. The veteran pacer has been a stalwart of Indian cricket. With 245 scalps in the 50-over format, the speedster enjoys bowling in the shorter format and will spearhead the bowling attack at 39. 

For the unversed, she was India's third-highest wicket-taker in the 2017 Women's World Cup, returning with 10 breakthroughs.