India tour of Bangladesh: Harmanpreet Kaur to lead Women in Blue; Assam's Uma Chetry gets maiden India call-up

New Delhi, Jul 3: The Indian women's cricket team for the limited overs tour of Bangladesh, starting July 9 in Mirpur, has been announced. The absence of some names in the 18-member squad has raised some question marks.

Right-arm pacer Renuka Singh and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh have been left out of the squad while young off-spinner Shreyanka Patil - who recently became the first Indian to be picked up in the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) draft - has also been ignored.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side is scheduled to play three T20Is and as many ODIs against Bangladesh, in what is their first international assignment after loss in the T20 World Cup 2023 semi-final in South Africa. All six matches will be played at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS).

Smriti Mandhana has been named as Harmanpreet's deputy for the series. But it is surprising to see the omission of wicket-keeper batter Ghosh and Patil, who scalped nine wickets in India's title triumph in the ACC Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Hong Kong last month.

The reason for Ghosh's omission is not clear, neither anyone can gauge the reason behind Patil's exclusion from making her debut in the senior side despite her extraordinary performances in Hong Kong. It has been learnt that Renuka is not part of the squad for the entire series as she is injured.

Yastika Bhatia and Uma Chetry are the two wicketkeepers in the Indian squad. Spin all-rounder Sneh Rana is not part of the T20 squad but has found a place in the ODI team, while S Meghana is there in the shortest format but not in the 50-over side.

The tour will begin with the first T20I in Mirpur on July 9, followed by the next two matches on July 11 and 13. The ODIs will be played on July 16, 19 and 22 respectively at the same venue.

India White-Ball Squads against Bangladesh

India's T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Devika Vaidya, Uma Chetry (wk), Amanjot Kaur, S. Meghana, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Monica Patel, Rashi Kanojiya, Anusha Bareddy, Minnu Mani.

India's ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Devika Vaidya, Uma Chetry (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Priya Punia, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Monica Patel, Rashi Kanojiya, Anusha Bareddy, Sneh Rana.

(With PTI inputs)