CHENNAI: As the women's inter-zonal format returns in domestic cricket for the first time since the 2017-18 season, Sneha Deepthi is named as the captain of South Zone for the T20 tournament that begins on November 8 in Lucknow. Kerala all-rounder Minnu Mani will be her deputy.
Andhra's Sneha, who made a comeback to cricket eight months in the 2021-22 domestic season after having a baby, will be leading a side that comprises some big names in the circuit, including Goa skipper and Indian international Shikha Pandey.
Tamil Nadu's L Nethra and Niranjana Nagarajan are among the players who were a part of the South Zone team that finished as runner-up in the 2017–18 senior women's Inter zonal three-day tournament.
Meanwhile, the squad has quite a few young talents such as all-rounder Shreyanka Patil and left-arm pacer Monical Patel from Karnataka, Hyderabad's Pooja Vanka, Yuvashri from Pondicherry, and B Anusha and E Padmaja from Andhra.
South Zone will take on North Zone in the opening game of the tournament, which also features Central Zone, East Zone, North East Zone, and West Zone. The teams will play against each other once and the top two sides would make it to the final.
Schedule:
Nov 8: North vs South, East vs West, Central vs North East
Nov 9: North vs East, South vs Central , West vs North East
Nov 11: North vs West, South vs North East, East vs Central
Nov 12: North vs North East, South vs East, West vs Central
Nov 14: North vs Central, South vs West, East vs North East
Nov 16: Final
South Zone squad: Sneha Deepthi (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shikha Pandey, Yuvashri, L Nethra, Akshaya, Sajana, Aparna Mondal, Saranya Gadwal, B Anusha, Pooja Vanka, Shreyanka Patil, Niranjana Nagarajan, Monica Patel, E Padmaja.
Standbys: B S Tamore, Ramya, S Anusha, Pranavi Chandra, Sahana S Pawar, K Prathyoosha.