India Women’s National Cricket Team vs South Africa Women’s National Cricket Team: The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) on Tuesday named a 15-player squad for India’s upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, scheduled to start on April 17. With an eye on the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup in June, this series will serve as good practice for both South Africa and India.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, along with star batters Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Jemimah Rodrigues, will headline the batting prowess for Team India up the order. Players such as Deepti Sharma, Bharti Fulmali, Uma Chetry, Anushka Sharma, and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh will provide power-packed batting options.
Who is Anushka Sharma?
The batter from Madhya Pradesh earned her maiden call-up for the series after putting up an impressive performance in this year’s Women’s Premier League (WPL). During the tournament, she was one of Gujarat Giants’ brightest stars, scoring 177 runs in seven innings at an average of 25.28, with a strike rate of 129.19 and a best score of 44.
In the domestic arena, she once scored 80 runs off 58 balls for Central Zone in the Senior Women’s Interzonal Trophy—totaling 155 runs from five matches—then achieved 207 runs in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy. She ranked as the second-highest scorer in the Madhya Pradesh Women’s League, accumulating 93 runs in four matches for Bundelkhand Bulls.
GG’s journey in the season ended during the playoffs, losing to Delhi Capitals (DC).
Spinners Shreyanka Patil and Shree Charani will form a solid spin trio with an experienced Deepti, while the pace attack will consist of Renuka Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, and Kranti Gaud.
The first two fixtures of the series will take place on April 17 and 19 in Durban, while the next two will take place in Johannesburg on April 22 and 25. The final fixture on April 27 will take place at Benoni.
India’s squad for South Africa Tour: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani, Shreyanka Patil, Kashvee Gautam, Bharti Fulmali, Uma Chetry (WK), Anushka Sharma.
with inputs from agency
