The Indian women’s team will travel to Australia for an important tri-series which will also involve England women’s team. The tri-series will start on January 31 and the final will be played on Feb 12. The first phase of matches will be played in Canberra and the second phase, including the final, will be played in Melbourne.

This is a crucial series for the Indian team given that the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is slated to begin from February 21 in Australia itself and will be a good way to gauge the team’s strengths and weaknesses. The first match will see Harmanpreet Kaur-led squad takes on hosts and four-time champions in Sydney.

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"The tri-series will be an important one. It will tell us if the girls can compete against the very best (Australia and England). Most of the players select themselves so don't expect a surprise. In all likelihood, the team that features in the tri-series will be the team that plays the T20 World Cup," a BCCI official told PTI.

The performances of India A players during last month's tour of Australia will be taken into consideration before the Hemlata Kala-led selection panel announces the squad for the tri-series and probables for the T20 World Cup. The selectors will have to pick the final-15 one month before the mega event.

Fifteen-year-old Shafali Verma impressed with a 78-ball 124 in a 50-over game during India A’s tour to Australia recently. Since there is no Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) in place, the same set of selectors are likely to pick the T20 World Cup squad after naming the team for the tri-series on Sunday. Once the CAC is formed, it will pick the new selection panel.

(PTI inputs)