On Thursday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad that will tour New Zealand as well as play the ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. The New Zealand series will be played between February 9 and February 24, while the World Cup will be played between March 4 and April 3.
India women’s squad for NZ ODI series and World Cup:
Mithali Raj (C), Harmanpreet Kaur (VC), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav.
Standby players: Sabbhineni Meghana, Ekta Bisht, Simran Dil Bahadur.
While the squad announcement has brought smiles to some, it has also raised many eyebrows. The key players to have missed out are Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey. Instead of them, players like Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur and Yastika Bhatia have been given the chance.
Jemimah Rodrigues who had some wonderful performances in the franchise cricket last year was overlooked, so was Punam Raut, who almost took India home in the World Cup 2017 final against England. Shikha Pandey, who has been the backbone of India’s bowling attack in the absence of Jhulan Goswami was also sidelined.
India have made quite a few changes to the World Cup 2022 squad compared to the World Cup 2017 squad.
India players IN for World Cup 2022: Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Taniya Bhatia, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar
Players OUT from World Cup 2017: Punam Raut, Mona Meshram, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Sushma Verma, Nuzhat Parween, Mansi Joshi
Seven players from World Cup 2017 were left out and eight new players have been brought in for the World Cup 2022.
India’s schedule for the World Cup 2022 in New Zealand
| S.No. | Date | Opponent | Venue |
| 1 | March 6th | Pakistan | Bay Oval, Tauranga |
| 2 | March 10th | New Zealand | Seddon Park, Hamilton |
| 3 | March 12th | West Indies | Seddon Park, Hamilton |
| 4 | March 16th | England | Bay Oval, Tauranga |
| 5 | March 19th | Australia | Eden Park, Auckland |
| 6 | March 22nd | Bangladesh | Seddon Park, Hamilton |
| 7 | March 27th | South Africa | Hagley Oval, Christchurch |
The World Cup 2022 will see all teams facing each other in the league format. The top four teams will play the semi-finals and the winners of semi-finals will advance to the finals that will be played on April 3. India’s campaign starts on March 6 as they will take on Pakistan at Bay Oval in Tauranga.
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.