After an impressive show in the Women’s World Cup earlier this in England as they lost the final against the host in a close encounter by 9 runs, the Indian girls will be back in action as the India A team will take on the Bangladesh A team starting from November 26. They are scheduled to play two warm-up games, three ODI and Three T20’s. The Indian Women’s cricket has gained a lot of mileage since the World Cup heroics and everybody is taking a keen interest in this series.
Let’s take a look at The India A squad for the Bangladesh series:
Anuja Patil (C): The 25-year-old all-rounder Patil, who hails from Kolhapur, is an experienced cricketer as she has represented India in T20Is. She made her debut for the women’s in blue in September 2012 against England at Galle. Patil has represented Maharashtra, her native state in the domestic tournaments since 2009. He has donned the Indian jersey in 24 matches picking up 21 wickets with the best figure 3 for 14. She is also quite handy with the bat down the order as she has the highest score of 34 with a strike rate of 92.81.
Sabbhineni Meghana: The cricketer from Andhra Pradesh is a right-handed batter and possesses the experience of donning the India jersey in the shortest format of the game. Meghana has been a part of the Andhra Women’s team for long. She lives in Krishna district and for the past six years, has played in under-16, under-19, senior women one-dayers, and T20s for Andhra Cricket Association. She has also been captain of the Andhra women’s team in all age-groups. She has represented India in 6 T20 matches and has scored 54 runs with the highest score of 19.
Neha Tanwar: The cricketer from Delhi is an experienced as she has represented India in the white ball game before she decided to retire from cricket in 2014 as she was expecting a baby. At the age of 18, Neha made it to the Delhi senior team after her impressive show with the bat in the age groups. Her heroics in the Challenger Trophy in 2010 got her a national call-up in 2011 against the West Indies side in the home soil. Neha, who is now 31 years old, is making a comeback to cricket and will like to have a good stint with the India A side to make a point in front of the national team selectors.
Nuzhat Parween (WK): The wicket-keeper-batswoman from Madhya Pradesh scored a brilliant hundred in her inter-zonal debut for the Central zone against a star-studded bowling attack which brought her to the good book of the national selectors. However, her decision to join Western Railways backfired as she didn’t get a single game to play as India regular Sushma Verma was the first keeper in the team. She got her only opportunity in the season for India U-19 in the Challenger Trophy, and there it was her glovework that pressed her case. An incredible stumping of Mithali Raj off a ball that turned and bounced sharply, helped her make a push for the Indian T20 team, despite next to no runs and hardly any senior level experience in the season to her credit. She made her T20I debut last year, against West Indies at home.
Also Read: Nuzhat shares her complete cricket journey in an interview with Female Cricket
Kavita Patil: Good in Table Tennis and Basketball, Patil was forcefully brought into cricket by her school coach but soon she developed a liking for the game and started enjoying it. She has played for many teams such as Maharashtra, Railways, West Zone, and Central Zone as a medium pace bowler and has a good record in the domestic circuit. The Challenger Trophy in 2012 was the turning point in her career as she picked up 3 wickets in 7 overs she bowled giving away only 7 runs while playing for India Red.
Also Read: Interview with Kavita Patil
Preeti Bose: The right-arm off-spin bowler from Sonipat, Haryana came into the limelight after picking up fifer to help India blue beat India Red by 18 runs in the senior women’s Challenger Trophy in 2015. She has been a star performer in the domestic side for quite some time now, however, couldn’t make a mark in the international arena in the 6 matches she has played for India. She will be eyeing this tournament to prove her worth and make a comeback in the national team.
Devika Vaidya: Devika took up cricket as a professional career after India’s loss to Australia in the 2003 World Cup final and as she says her mother supported her all throughout. At a tender age of 6, she was inspired by Australian legend Brett Lee and Steve Waugh. Devika was selected for the u-19 squad at the age of 12 when she decided to give up on Taekwondo and pursue her career in cricket. Devika found her recognition when she played a patient knock of 59 runs to take her team while chasing Baroda’s 138. She has represented India in 7 ODI and has scored 143 runs with the highest score of 89.
Vanitha VR: The 27-year-old opener has represented India on several occasion, however, cement her place due to inconsistency. Vanitha played a superb knock of 41 runs against New Zealand as wickets tumbled on from the other side. Vanitha’s father provided her the support needed as she continued her practice sessions. Vanitha credited all his success to her coach Irfan Sait, who believed in her abilities. Vanitha, who made her Karnataka debut in 2006, will be keen to prove a point in the upcoming series.
Also Read: Complete life journey of Vanitha VR
Jemima Rodrigues: Mumbai’s Jemima Rodrigues has been in tremendous form in the BCCI’s u-19 tournament and the team will bank on her to get some good start. Jemima also plays in center-forward in school hockey team and is often seen practicing with the boy older than her. The 17-year-old Jemima became the second cricketer to score a double hundred in BCCI’s u-19 tournament after Smriti Mandhana. She leads the Mumbai U-19, West Zone U-19, and U-23 side and also attended the senior Indian women’s camp, which was held in Bangalore.
Mansi Joshi: The right-arm medium pacer was a part of 2017 World Cup team that lost to England in the finals at Lords, however, she didn’t feature in any games. Mansi had a good start to her T20I career as she picked 3 wickets in the first two matches after her debut in 2016. Hailing from Uttarakhand, Mansi plays for Haryana in the domestic tournaments. Featuring in 7 ODI’s, Mansi has the best figure of 3 for 25.
Also Read: Interview with Mansi Joshi
Sukanya Parida: The 24-year-old cricketer from Orissa is now playing alongside India team star Jhulan Goswami for the Bengal side in the domestic tournament. The right-arm medium pacer drew the attention of the national selectors with her brilliant performance in Challenger Trophy with India Red in 2016. She was included in the ODI squad against West Indies that year, however, she couldn’t impress in the one match she featured. She will be desperate to prove a point and make full use of this opportunity.
Priyanka Priyadarshini: Priyanka, a native of Hinjilikatu in Ganjam district who currently lives in Bhubaneswar, is among three Odia players to find a place in the Indian team, declared by the All-India Women’s Selection Committee. The right-arm off-break bowler came into the headlines after she picked 10 wickets from 5 matches in both senior and junior category East Zone tournaments. She has a wonderful record in the domestic circuit and will look to impress the national selectors.
M D Thirushkamini: Thirushkamini is a left-handed opening batter who has represented India in all the formats. Kamini made a memorable debut at 16 in the Asia Cup in Jaipur when she took her career-best 3 for 19 against Pakistan. India won the tournament and Kamini won the player-of-the-tournament award for her eight wickets at 10.87. But against stronger opposition, picked for the Quadrangular tournament in Chennai in February-March 2007, Kamini got only one wicket in the in three games she played. The 27-year-old cricketer has an average of 89 in Test cricket as she scored 237 runs from 2 matches she played. She also has two ODI hundred behind her name scoring 825 runs in 39 ODI’s she has featured. With Punam Raut and Smriti Mandhana occupying the top spot, she will be eyeing to impress the selectors to get back to the national team.
