New Delhi: Veteran batsman Mithali Raj will once again lead the 15-member ODI squad while all-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur will serve as her deputy when India will lock horns with New Zealand in the three-match series, beginning January 24 at McLean Park, Napier.
While India will play in ODIs as a part of their preparation for the ICC Women’s Championship, the two sides will also square off in three-match Twenty20 International series, which starts on February 6 in Westpac Stadium, Wellington.
Meanwhile, Mithali has also been recalled in the 15-member Indian T20I squad, which will be led by Harmanpreet and vice-captained by Smriti Mandhana.
Veda Krishnamurthy has been dropped from both the squads in the wake of her series of recent poor runs. Mona Meshram has been roped in the squad as her replacement for ODIs,while uncapped Priya Punia has been picked in place of Veda for T20I series.
Meanwhile, Shikha Pandey has also been called into the T20I squad as a replacement for injured pacer Pooja Vastrakar.
India’s tour to New Zealand will serve as their first assignement since being knocked out in the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 against England. The last-four clash was also marked by controversy after Harmanpreet Kaur, the then coach Ramesh Powar and the team management decided to drop Mithali Raj from the squad.
The announcement of the squads came a day after WV Raman was named as the new coach of the Indian women’s cricket team, with the upcoming New Zealand tour marking his first assignment in the role.
The ODI and T20I squads are as follows:
India ODI squad: Mithali Raj (captain), Poonam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Tanya Bhatia (wk), Mona Meshram, Ekta Bist, Mansi Joshi, Dayalan Hemlatha, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey.
India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Mithali Raj, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Anuja Patil, Dayalan Hemlatha, Mansi Joshi, Shikha Pandey, Tanya Bhatia (wk), Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bist, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Priya Punia.
