The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for the upcoming T20I series against England and the two test matches against England and Australia.
In its announcement, the BCCI said, “The Women’s Selection Committee has selected the Team India(Senior Women) squad for the upcoming T20I series against England, as well as for the two Tests against England and Australia. The squad for the white-ball series against Australia will be picked later.”
Harmanpreet Kaur will be leading the side in both formats and Smriti Mandhana will be serving as her deputy.
The squad for the T20I series is a good mix of experience and youth. Selectors have included players like Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque, and Titas Sadhu who have had impressive performances in recent games. Patil and Ishaque were standout performers in the WPL with 6 and 15 wickets for their teams respectively. Patil also performed well in the A series against England. Sadhu needs no introduction. With a 3/6 against Sri Lanka, she was the hero at the Asian Games final. Another notable addition to the squad is pacer Renuka Singh who is returning after injury.
Who is most likely to make her International debut for 🇮🇳? #CricketTwitter #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/P51qfj396d
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 2, 2023
The last time India clashed against England in a T20I series, England emerged on top winning the series 2-1. The top performers for India were Sneh Rana and Renuka Singh with 12 wickets each and Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur with 270 and 191 runs respectively. Rana isn’t a part of the T20I squad this time around but has been included in the test matches.
The test team doesn’t have many surprising inclusions and is mostly dominated by seasoned campaigners like Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, and Pooja Vastrakar. Sadhu, who is being considered as the heir to Jhulan Goswami has been added. Batter Shubha Satheesh who played some brilliant knocks in the national one-dayers has also been included.
Both the test matches that India played against Australia and England ended in a draw. Shafali Verma and Sneh Rana were the standout performers for India in the game against England. Verma scored a 96 and 63 and was awarded the Player of the Match trophy while Rana took a 4-wicket haul. In the test against Australia, Smriti Mandhana was awarded the Player of the Match trophy for her sensational century. Amongst the bowlers, Pooja Vastrakar and Jhulan Goswami shined with 3 and 2 wickets respectively.
7 🇮🇳 Players have earned their maiden Test call-up.
Who do you think can make their debut against England and Australia? #CricketTwitter #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/MnIQkYbFCA
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 3, 2023
The T20Is are scheduled to begin on 6th December and will take place at the Wankhede Stadium. The test match will take place from 14th to 17th December at the DY Patil Stadium. The series against Australia will begin with the test match from 21st to 24 December at the Wankhede Stadium.
India Squad for 3 T20Is against England:
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Kanika Ahuja, Minnu Mani
India Squad for Test against Australia and England:
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar
Vaishnavi is a passionate author with an unwavering love for cricket, particularly women’s cricket. Her writing reflects her deep admiration for the sport and her dedication to promoting women’s participation in it. When she’s not following the latest cricket matches, Vaishnavi can be found engrossed in books or enjoying movies.