CHENNAI: The new Indian women’s selection committee headed by Neetu David has announced the squad for the upcoming limited-overs series against South Africa. There are a lot of new faces in the contingent, with a few experienced players being ignored. The series, consisting of five ODIs and three T20Is, is due to begin on March 7 at Lucknow.
The notable exclusions are pacer Shikha Pandey, wicketkeeper-batter Taniya Bhatia and left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht. The 31-year-old Shikha was instrumental in India’s runner-up finish at the T20 World Cup last year — which was also the women’s last international assignment before the pandemic. Ekta, who has 96 wickets to her name in the ODIs, has been left out. Yastika Bhatia has replaced her.
Wicketkeeper Sushma Verma is back in the squad after three years, replacing Taniya. While Swetha Verma is also included in the ODIs, Nuzhat Parveen is the second choice keeper for T20Is. In the pace department, Mansi Joshi makes a comeback with Monica Patel and C Prathyusha earning maiden India call-ups for both formats. In T20Is, Simran Dil Bahadir has found a place for the first time.
Meanwhile, Shafali Verma has been picked only for T20Is.
Squads: ODIs: Mithali (C), Smriti, Jemimah, Punam, Priya, Yastika, Harmanpreet, Hemalatha, Deepti,Sushma, Swetha, Radha, Rajeshwari, Jhulan, Mansi, Poonam, Monica Prathyusha. T20Is: Harmanpreet (C), Smriti, Shafali, Jemimah, Deepti, Richa, Harleen, Sushma, Nuzhat, Ayushi, Arundhati, Radha Rajeshwari, Poonam, Mansi, Monica, Prathyusha, Simran.