The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for the upcoming India vs South Africa women’s multi-format series. Harmanpreet Kaur will continue to lead the side across all three formats, with Smriti Mandhana as her deputy. The big news ahead of the 7-match all-format series is the uncertainty surrounding the availability of Jemimah Rodrigues and Pooja Vastrakar.
Rodrigues had missed the India vs Bangladesh 5-match series due to a back injury and underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, but questions over her fitness remain. Vastrakar isn’t 100% fit either, but the nature of her injury hasn’t been specified by the BCCI.
Uma Chetry in for Yastika Bhatia
Uncapped wicketkeeper batter Uma Chetry has received a maiden India call-up owing to an injured Yastika Bhatia. Chetry has previously been part of India’s Asia Games squad that won gold in Hangzhou last year and made her Women’s Premier League (WPL) debut earlier in the year for the UP Warriorz.
BCCI & CSA’s step towards promotion of Test cricket
According to the ICC’s Future Tours Program (FTP), India and South Africa women weren’t scheduled to play the one-off Test that’ll take place in Chennai. However, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa (CSA) have decided to play their part in the promotion of women’s Test cricket and add one more match.
This will be the first time in a decade that India and South Africa are playing a test match. 2014 was the last time the two nations squared off, and interestingly, it was just the fourth first-class encounter between the two sides.
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India Women’s squad for all-format series vs South Africa
ODI: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma. Jemimah Rodrigues *, Richa Ghosh (WK), Uma Chetri (WK), Dayalan Hemlatha, Radha Yadav, Asha Sobhana. Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar *, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Priya Punia
Test: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Shubha Satheesh. Jemimah Rodrigues *, Richa Ghosh (WK), Uma Chetri (WK), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar *, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghna Singh, Priya Punia
T20I: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha. Uma Chetri (WK), Richa Ghosh (WK), Jemimah Rodrigues *, Sajana Sajeevan, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil. Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Asha Sobhana, Pooja Vastrakar *, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy. Standby: Saika Ishaque
*Selection is subject to fitness.
India vs South African Women Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 13 | Thursday | 1:30 PM | ODI Warmup SA vs BP XI | Bengaluru |
| June 16 | Sunday | 1:30 PM | 1st ODI | Bengaluru |
| June 19 | Wednesday | 1:30 PM | 2nd ODI | Bengaluru |
| June 23 | Sunday | 1:30 PM | 3rd ODI | Bengaluru |
| June 28 to July 1 | Fri-Mon | 9:30 AM | Test | Chennai |
| July 5 | Friday | 7:00 PM | 1st T20I | Chennai |
| July 7 | Sunday | 7:00 PM | 2nd T20I | Chennai |
| July 9 | Tuesday | 7:00 PM | 3rd T20I | Chennai |
