New Delhi: The All-India women’s selection committee on January 23 has named the 15-member T20I squad for the five-match series against South Africa next month. The T20I series would follow the three-match ODI series which begins on February 5.
The slambang right-handed Harmanpreet Kaur has been appointed to lead the side and the dashing opener Smriti Mandhana, is set to be her deputy. Prodigious talent Jemimah Rodrigues would grab all the eyeballs after she has justified her batting prowess at the domestic level. ODI captain Mithali Raj, who had stated that they needed to travel early to get acquainted with the conditions woke continue to form the core of the batting unit alongside Kaur and Mandhana.
“We had (also) gone early for the World Cup in England (last year) to get acclimatised. It helps (because) we try and organise practice games… get used to the bounce, because normally you don’t get to see that bounce in subcontinental wickets and the lateral movement which we are probably expecting, because this time we are playing with two new balls. This is our first international tournament where we will be playing with two new balls. So it is important, we are going early so that we get used to these conditions,” she had said.
The all-round abilities of Veda Krishnamurthy and Deepti Sharma would come handy especially in a format like the T20I, where quick runs and brief bowling spells rule the roost. Wicketkeepers Taniya Bhatia and Nuzhat Parveen too have been included which thus makes no room for first-choice Sushma Verma, who is a regular across formats.
On the bowling front, veteran Jhulan Goswami would once again lead the attack that comprises of Shikha Pandey. Also, 17-year-old uncapped all-rounder Radha Yadav has been included in the team. Yadav, with her left-arm off-spin has replaced Ekta Bisht.
The first T20I would be played on 13th February in Potchefstroom which would be followed by the second game in East London, three days later. Johannesburg would host the third match on February 18 while the third and fourth T20Is would be played in Centurion and Cape Town on 21st and 24th February, respectively.
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Anuja Patil, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav.