Harmanpreet Kaur will lead India”s squad in the five-match t20 international series on their tour to South Africa. Smriti Mandhana the left-hand opening batter is appointed as vice-captain of the T20 side.
Mumbai”s young batting sensation Jemimah Rodrigues has been named in India”s T20I squad for the tour of South Africa. The Mumbai Under-19 skipper had recently broken into the ODI set-up for the same tour on the back of spectacular performances – that included a 163-ball knock of 202 in the Inter-State women”s Under-19 one-day tournament last November. She backed that up with notable innings in the recently-concluded Challenger Trophy.
India has opted to keep wicketkeeper Sushma Verma out of the squad, drafting in Nuzhat Parveen and Taniya Bhatia as the two options behind the stumps, for the tour. Nuzhat, the 21-year-old stumper from Madhya Pradesh, has often played back-up to the senior Sushma, until making her T20I debut against West Indies women in Vijayawada in November 2016. Taniya, the 20-year-old from Chandigarh, is one of the uncapped players in the touring party.
In the bowling department, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht has been axed, making way for a young bowler of similar ilk in Radha Yadav. Pooja Vastrakar – another youngster – has also been picked. She also features in the ODI squad in place of injured medium-pacer Mansi Joshi, who played in the Women”s World Cup last year where India finished runners-up. Vastrakar will be the third seaming option in the India line-up after Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey.
The T20 Internationals series starts on the 13th of February.
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), 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.