Wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia has been named in India’s ODI and T20I squad for the tour of Sri Lanka next month. Mithali Raj will lead the Indian women’s team in the 50-over format while Harmanpreet Kaur will captain the T20I side.
India women’s team will play three ODIs and five T20Is India women’s team will play three ODIs and five T20Is against Sri Lanka. The series is considered as a vital preparation for ICC Women’s World Twenty20, slated to be played from November 9 in Windies. It will be India’s first ODI assignment since defeating England 2-1 at home earlier this year.
There are quite a few inclusions and omissions in the ODI squad. One of the most notable additions to the side has been that of wicket-keeper batswoman - Taniya Bhatia. Considering Taniya’s ability to keep the scoreboard ticking and her use of feet against the spinners is something that could prove vital on the slow surfaces of Sri Lanka.
Punam Raut and Mansi Joshi are the other inclusions in the ODI squad. While Joshi will return to action for the first time in eight months after recovering from a knee injury, Raut too will look to make the most of this opportunity after she was snubbed from the ODI squad against England.
Devika Vaidya and Pooja Vastrakar's omissions are forced as the former recuperating from dengue and the latter undergoing a treatment on her knee injury. The road for Sushma Verma, however, looks a bit tough as she finds herself out of the ODI squad after being dropped from the T20I scheme of things.
Meanwhile, the T20I squad will miss legendary pacer Jhulan Goswami’s name as she announced her retirement from T20 international matches on Thursday. Dayalan Hemalatha and Arundhati Reddy received their maiden call-ups in the T20I team.
Squad for three ODIs:
Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Veda Krishnamurthy, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Shikha Pandey
Squad for five T20Is:
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Dayalan Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Anuja Patil, Tanya Bhatia(wk), Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi
