Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Jan 6: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday announced a 15-member squad for ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.
The tournament will be held between March 4 and April 3 in New Zealand. Indian team will play their first world cup fixture against Pakistan on March 6, 2022 at the Bay Oval, Tauranga. Mithali Raj will lead India while Harmanpreett Kaur will be her deputy at the World Cup.
Interestingly, the squad will also feature in the 5-match ODI series against New Zealand starting from 11 February, 2022.
The All India Women’s Senior Selection Committee picked the squads for the New Zealand tour and the showpiece event on Wednesday. Fast bowler Shikha Pandey and in-form batter Jemimah Rodrigues are among the prominent absentees from the roster.
In February, the World Cup-bound team will play a 5-match ODI series in New Zealand. Before the knockout phases of the competition, India will play seven matches in a round-robin format.
Notably, Mithali Raj led India to the final of the previous Women’s World Cup held in 2017. India lost to England in the final after having beaten powerhouses Australia in the semi-final.
Notably, the Women’s World Cup was postponed by a year because to the Covid-19 outbreak, casting doubt on Mithali and Jhulan Goswami’s participation. However, the senior pros have kept fit and fought hard to earn their spots in the squad.
India squad for New Zealand ODIs and 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: S. Meghna, Ekta Bisht, Simran Dil Bahadur.
India squad for one-off T20I in New Zealand –
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.
