Muzumdar: Dropping Rodrigues against England 'one of the toughest decisions'

India head coach Amol Muzumdar has said leaving Jemimah Rodrigues out of the World Cup clash against England on Sunday was "one of the toughest decisions" the team has had to make, and one dictated purely by combination and conditions.

"To be fair, Jemi [Rodrigues] has been a very important player, an integral part of this side we have built," Muzumdar said. "Sometimes you just have to take those tough calls. That game, particularly against England, required the sixth bowling option, given the ground of Indore and the [high-scoring] conditions over there, we thought six bowling options would be a better call on that particular day and for that particular match."

Rodrigues, who has managed just 65 runs from four innings this tournament, including two ducks, made way for seamer Renuka Singh in the weekend.

"It was a tough call, there is no doubt about it," Muzumdar said. "One of the toughest decisions, but sometimes tough calls do need to be taken. She took it really nicely and very sportingly."

Ahead of India's crucial clash against New Zealand, Rodrigues had an extended net session, closely working on her drives, though Muzumdar said the decision to bring her back into the XI will be taken only on match day.

India have now lost three consecutive matches, to South Africa, Australia, and England, all after getting into promising positions. Muzumdar conceded that the pressure of playing a home World Cup is being felt, but backed the squad, including young pacer Kranti Gaud, who's gone for runs in her second spell in all three games, to bounce back.

"I think a home World Cup, of course, there has to be some kind of pressure. But this side, this particular side is well-equipped to handle that. We've built a side around it and I think all the players are well-equipped to handle pressure.

"[Gaud] had not much of experience in international cricket, but that's the stage we are in. She's been the spearhead of the fast bowlers in the team. And we've had several discussions, we've not left any stone unturned with regards to discussion and taking the load off her."

While six Indian batters have crossed fifty in the tournament so far, none has reached three-figures, something Muzumdar said the team is actively trying to address. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur had laid the platform in the England game with a 125-run stand but were dismissed for 88 and 70 respectively.

"We are well aware that a three-figure mark hasn't come this World Cup. But if you look at the past year-and-a-half, the 18 months that have passed before the World Cup, we've had definitely a lot of hundreds that we've seen than ever before. I don't think there is a lot of load on anyone. But we've had honest discussions about it. And the players also have been honest that, 'Yes, instead of a fifty, we could have converted that into a hundred'. They are aware of it. And I'm hopeful that it will come in the next couple of games."

Muzumdar also said there was no burden on either Harmanpreet as captain or on Richa Ghosh to finish games single-handedly.

"As a batting group, we've discussed we need to get into a certain stage where we can have that, that kind of a liberty for Richa to go out there and play her shots."