On Friday, the BCCI and the women’s selection committee announced the India women’s squad for the upcoming tour of England starting June 16 where the team will play one Test, three ODIs and as many T20Is. Mithali Raj has been named the captain for the Test and ODIs, while Harmanpreet Kaur will lead in the T20Is.
India Women’s Squad for Test & ODI vs England:
Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Indrani Roy (wicket-keeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav.
India Women’s Squad for T20I vs England:
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain) Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Indrani Roy (wicket-keeper), Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Simran Dil Bahadur.
After the Boria Majumdar video that was published on Friday, it was expected that the BCCI and the selection committee will look to rectify their mistakes. Shikha Pandey and Taniya Bhatia, who were dropped for the South Africa series which India lost dearly made their way back into the Indian side with a bang as the duo will be a part of the Test, ODI, and T20 squad.
The other two names that have certainly delighted the women’s cricket fans and have given justice to the concerned players are Sneh Rana and Indrani Roy. Both Rana and Roy had a wonderful outing in the recently concluded senior women’s one-day tournament. Rana, who plays for Indian Railways, and Roy, who represents Jharkhand powered their respective teams to the finals. While the right arm off-spinner Rana (18 wickets in 8 matches) was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, wicket-keeper and opening bat Roy (456 runs in 8 matches) was the highest run-getter in the competition.
This is Roy’s first India call and the 23-year old will certainly look to make the most of it. On the other hand, the 27-year old Rana made her India debut in 2014 and was around till 2016, featuring in seven ODIs and five T20Is. The England series will be a comeback series for Rana and there is seldom any doubt that she would let this opportunity slip by.
On paper, the Indian side looks solid and it is expected that the Women in Blue will certainly come out strong especially after an embarrassing defeat to South Africa in the home series.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.