BCCI announces India squad for Women's World Cup

In a surprising move, top-order batter Jemimah Rodriguez and fast bowler Shikha Pandey were left out of India’s squads for the upcoming World Cup and the ODIs against New Zealand that will be acting as the build-up to the grand cricketing event.

Ekta Bisht who was refused a contract last March managed to find herself on the list of the standby players alongside Sabbhineni Meghana and Simran Dil Bahadur.

India will be playing five ODIs between February 11th and 24th, before starting their World Cup journey against arch-rivals Pakistan on March 6th.

Rodriguez struggled to score in the five ODI’s that India were a part of after coming back from the long hiatus which the pandemic forced upon the roster of women’s cricket. She scored in single-digits against South Africa and England and couldn’t conjure one convincing stroke that would justify her fame in international cricket.

Jemimah did manage to bag a spot in the recent Australia series but failed to make inroads in the starting eleven while Shafali Verma bossed the opening spot alongside Yastika Bhatia. Yastika managed to grab her first call-up for a World Cup after she impressed with the bat at the solitary shot that she was granted with the bat. She scored a fine 41 from 42 deliveries.

Shikha Pandey’s figures in the recent fixtures aren’t something that would make a fast bowler proud. From three fifty-over games, she could only manage two wickets. Renuka Singh and Meghana Singh earned their call-ups after impressing in Australia.

Before India starts their ODI campaign against New Zealand, there is a one-off T20 match against the Blackcaps for which the squad has also been announced.

India squad for one-off T20I: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, S. Meghna, Simran Dil Bahadur.

India squad for New Zealand ODIs and Women's World Cup: Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav.

India’s tour of New Zealand schedule:

February 9th: One of T20I at Napier

February 11th: 1st ODI at Napier

February 14th: 2nd ODI at Nelson

February 16th: 3rd ODI at Nelson

February 22nd: 4th ODI at Queenstown

February 24th: 5th ODI at Queenstown

India's Women's World Cup schedule:

March 6th: Pakistan at Tauranga

March 10th: New Zealand at Hamilton

March 12th: West Indies at Hamilton

March 16th: England at Tauranga

March 19th: Australia at Auckland

March 22nd: Bangladesh at Hamilton

Match 27th: South Africa at Christchurch