Indian women's team to play first tournament in four months, first T20 against Bangladesh today
The Indian women's cricket team will be hoping to capitalise on opportunities from fresh faces and 'finishers' to sharpen their game in the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh starting in Mirpur on Sunday. It is the first international tournament for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side in four months. Internationally, the Indian women's team last appeared on the field at the T20 World Cup in South Africa, where they suffered a narrow defeat to Australia in the knockout stage. After this T20 series, a series of three ODIs will be played from 16 July. The Indian team seems to have the upper hand. The standout performers for the team in the last 12 months have been fast bowler Renuka Thakur and wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, who are out of the squad due to injury and fitness issues respectively. Their absence will give new faces a chance to impress. While male cricketers are constantly on tours due to busy schedules, members of the Indian women's team have plenty of time to improve on their game. However, the last competitive tournament for Indian players was the inaugural Women's Premier League held in March.
In Richa's absence, the experienced Deepti Sharma is expected to play the role of 'finisher'. At the same time, Pooja Vastrakar and Amanjot will also have to contribute by scoring runs quickly at the end of the innings. The Indian women's team, however, has failed to take its game to the next level despite having all the facilities. The team needs to improve in many aspects including fitness, bowling and lack of a 'finisher All these things are very important for the shorter format of the game. Yastika Bhatia and Uma Chhetri, the first female cricketer from Assam to be included in the Indian team, are the two wicket-keeping options in the team. Bangladesh shouldn't trouble the Indian players much but the pressure will be on opener Shafali Verma, who has struggled against the short ball since her international debut in 2019. The absence of left-arm spinners Radha Yadav and Rajeshwari Gaikwad could give debuts to 20-year-old Anusha Bareddi and Rashi Kanojia. The series will be crucial for Monika Patel and Meghna Singh to make a comeback as both will look to cement their places in the team after being out for most of last season. Noushin Al Khadeer, who guided India's Under-19 team to the World Cup title, has been appointed as the interim coach. The players trained at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore after which they left for Bangladesh. All matches will be played at Shere Bangla National Stadium. The teams are as follows: India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shefali Verma, Jemima Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Harleen Deol, Devika Vaidya, Uma Chhetri (wicketkeeper), Amanjot Kaur, S Meghna, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Anjali Saravani, Monika Patel, Rashi Kanojia, Anusha Bareddi, Meenu Mani.