The all-India Senior Women’s Selection Committee has announced the 21-member Indian squad for the one-off Test match, ODI & T20 series against England on Friday. While the rookie, as well as uncapped Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Indrani Roy, has earned her maiden international call-up, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht and Taniya Bhatia have returned as well.
Meanwhile, Sneh Rana, the all-rounder who last played way back in February 2016, has returned to the squad on the back of some stellar performances. However, one of the notable omission was left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Notably, she has tested positive for the COVID-19 and currently recovering.
On the other hand, the inclusion of Indrani Roy was not at all a surprise as she finished the season as the highest run-getter. She scored 456 runs – at an average of 76.00 and a strike rate of 86.52 in the Senior One Day Trophy 2020-21 season. Along with her, Sneh Rana was rewarded for her stunning all-round show.
Leading the Railways team in the absence of Mithali Raj, she scored 160 runs at a strike rate of 123.07 in the middle order and claimed 18 wickets at an average of 12.66. Notably, she finished the season as the leading wicket-taker as well.
Meanwhile, pacer Shikha Pandey, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and wicketkeeper-batter Taniya Bhatia, who didn’t feature in both the ODI and T20I series at home against South Africa a couple of months back, have been added for all formats. It is also noteworthy that, Shafali Verma, the amazing talent who has already impressed everyone in the T20 format, has earned her maiden call-ups to the Test and ODI squads as well.
The All-India Senior Women's Selection Committee on Friday announced the Indian squad for the one-off Test match, ODI & T20 series against England. #TeamIndia
Details 👉https://t.co/FviNapoMIp pic.twitter.com/8DP8do1Z67
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) May 14, 2021
Notably, Sushma Verma, Sweta Verma and Nuhat Parween, who all were selected during the South Africa series have been left out. Along with them, Monica Patel, C Prathyusha, Mansi Joshi, Yastika Bhatia and Dayalan Hemalatha have also failed to find a place in the squad.
However, among the 18-member Test and ODI squad, only eight players – Mithali Raj, (the ODI & Test captain), Harmanpreet Kaur, (the T20I captain & ODI vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana (T20I vice-captain), Punam Raut, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht have played a Test before. The series will begin on June 16 with the one-off Test in Bristol. After that, the three-match ODI series will take place and the series will end on July 15 as well.
Test & ODI squad of India:
Mithali Raj (C), Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur (VC), Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Indrani Roy (WK), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav
T20I squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Indrani Roy (WK), Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Simaran Dil Bahadur
England vs India fixtures:
June 16-19 – One-off Test, Bristol
June 27 – 1st ODI, Bristol
June 30 – 2nd ODI, Taunton
July 3 – 3rd ODI, Worcester
July 9 – 1st T20I, Northampton
July 11 – 2nd T20I, Hove
July 15 – 3rd T20I, Chelmsford
