Smriti Mandhana to lead India in WODI series against Ireland
What's the story
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that Smriti Mandhana will lead the Indian team in the upcoming three-match WODI series against Ireland at home.
This comes as regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and bowler Renuka Singh Thakur are set to be rested for this series.
The first match is scheduled to take place on January 10 in Rajkot.
Player updates
India to miss services of Harmanpreet, Renuka
Harmanpreet is still recovering from a knee injury she suffered during last month's series against the West Indies at home. The injury saw her miss the last two WT20Is, however, she made a comeback for three WODIs.
Renuka, who was named Player of the Series in the WODIs after taking 10 wickets from three games, is being rested to manage her workload after previous back pain issues.
Team changes
New faces and continued absences in the squad
Raghvi Bist and Sayali Satghare have been called up for the series against Ireland.
Meanwhile, Arundhati Reddy, Shafali Verma, and Radha Yadav remain absent from the team.
Bist made her WT20I debut recently in a series against the West Indies, while Satghare got her India call-up for WODIs against New Zealand in October last year but didn't get to play.
Squad retention
Pratika Rawal and Tanuja Kanwar retain their spots
The likes of Pratika Rawal and Tanuja Kanwar, who made their India debuts in the West Indies WODIs in Vadodara, have retained their spots for the Ireland series.
Notably, Mandhana had previously stepped in as captain, when Harmanpreet was sidelined during the last two WT20Is against West Indies.
The squad also includes Deepti Sharma (vice-captain), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, and Jemimah Rodrigues among others.
Information
A look at India Women's squad
Squad: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Deepti Sharma (vice-captain), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry (wicket-keeper), Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Tanuja Kanwer, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, and Sayali Satghare.
Series significance
Ireland's first-ever bilateral tour to India
The WODI series between Ireland and India is part of the 2022-2025 Future Tours Program (FTP).
This will be Ireland Women's first-ever bilateral tour of India and their first series against each other since 2006.
So far, Ireland have lost all 12 WODIs against India. Their last encounter was in the 2023 ICC T20 World Cup, where India emerged victorious by five runs.