India announce squad for Women’s World Cup; Jemimah and Shikha Pandey left out

Team India have announced the 15-person squad for the Women’s 50-over World Cup starting March, and the squad does not feature two prominent names - Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey. Both Jemimah and Shikha were unused squad members in the three-match ODI series against Australia last year, but the selectors have opted to leave out the duo who last featured in the ODIs against England in June. 

Another big name that has missed the cut is Punam Raut, who like Jemimah and Shikha last featured in the ODIs against England last year. 32-year-old Raut was an integral part of the Indian squad that reached the final in 2017, ending the competition as the second-highest run-getter with 381 runs.

The 15-player squad will be led by Mithali Raj, while the squad sees Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh and Pooja Vastrakar, all of whom impressed in the Australia tour, make the cut. There is also place for all-rounder Sneh Rana, who since the England tour has become an integral part of the national team.

Veteran spinner Ekta Bisht, who took 9 wickets in the 2017 World Cup campaign, has only made it to the reserves, while the selectors have included uncapped Renuka Singh Thakur, who featured in the T20I series against Australia last year.

Harmanpreet Kaur, who ended the recently-concluded WBBL season as the Player of the Tournament, will serve as Mithali Raj’s deputy.

India will start their campaign against Pakistan at the Bay Oval on March 6.

Team India for 5 ODIs against NZ & ICC Women’s World Cup, 2022

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.

Standby Players

Sabbhineni Meghana, Ekta Bisht, Simran Dil Bahadur.            

Meanwhile, included in the squad for the one-off T20I against New Zealand is 25-year-old Sabbhineni Meghana, who last played for the team back in 2016.

India Women’s 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.