Decoding India Women's squads for white-ball tour of Bangladesh
BCCI on Sunday announced India Women's squad for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh. Three T20Is and as many ODIs will be played in the tour, which gets underway on July 9. Interestingly, the national selectors have left out two of India's rising stars, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Singh. Uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Uma Chetry has been picked up in both squads. Here are further details.
Why Ghosh and Renuka were dropped?
Notably, the upcoming series is India Women's maiden assignment after the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, which took place in February. Both Renuka and Ghosh were impressive in the tournament. The former's tally of seven wickets in five games at an economy of 6.58 was the highest among Indian bowlers. Wicketkeeper-batter Ghosh smoked 136 runs at 68 with her strike rate being 130.76.
Other uncapped players in the squad
Besides Chetry, who was part of the India A side that had recently won the ACC Emerging Nations tournament, the selectors have picked three more uncapped players. All-rounder Minnu Mani (only T20Is) was selected alongside left-arm spinners Anusha Bareddy and Rashi Kanojiya. Mani played for Delhi Capitals in the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL). Notably, Harmanpreet Kaur will lead both squads.
Recall for Patel, Punia
Left-arm pacer Monica Patel and batter Priya Punia (only ODIs) are back in the mix. Both players were last seen in the 2021 ODI series against South Africa. Notably, Patel is yet to play a T20I match. Batter S Meghana, pacer Meghna Singh, and Sneh Rana (only ODIs), who were the reserves in India's T20 WC squad, have been drafted into the main team.
Other names to miss out
All-rounders Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad are the other notable names to miss out. The selectors have punted on Devika Vaidya and Punjab's Amanjot Kaur for the all-rounder's role. The latter made her debut during the tri-series in South Africa earlier this year. Meanwhile, it's unclear whether India will have a head coach on the tour or not.
India's T20I squad
India's T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Devika Vaidya, Uma Chetry (wk), Amanjot Kaur, S. Meghana, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Monica Patel, Rashi Kanojiya, Anusha Bareddy, Minnu Mani.
India's ODI squad
India's ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Devika Vaidya, Uma Chetry (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Priya Punia, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Monica Patel, Rashi Kanojiya, Anusha Bareddy, Sneh Rana.
