Much like men’s Cricket, Women’s Cricket is also set to resume after a long off-season. Team India will be playing a bi-format tour in Bangladesh which marks the first time players will be in action for the national team since the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in February. At the same time, the last time Indian women cricketers were in action was during the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League.
The team will play three T20Is starting July 9 and then three ODIs will follow starting July 16. Every single game is scheduled to be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. The time for the games will be 1:30 PM IST and 9 AM IST for T20Is and ODIs, respectively. The Indian Cricket Board named the 18-member teams on Monday. And, a few picks and omissions have taken fans by surprise.
No place for Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh Thakur and Richa Ghosh
Renuka Singh Thakur and Richa Ghosh, two rising stars, have been left out of both squads, while veteran bowler Shikha Pandey, who made a comeback in the T20 World Cup and was likely the greatest Indian pacer on display in the WPL, has been absent from both squads. Nobody is aware of whether these guys have been dropped or have been rested to evaluate a few more young players. The all-rounder Sneh Rana has also been dropped, but players like Yastika Bhatia and Meghna Singh remain in the T20I squad. There is no change to the leadership structure as Harmanpreet Kaur is set to lead the team in both formats with Smriti Mandhana assisting her as the deputy.
Here are the announced squads:
India women'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 women'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.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Shame on Rohit Sharma
— A (@kohliRcb18) July 2, 2023
Haarcb effect ☕️
— Dhwani (@Dhwani_1997) July 2, 2023
Selectors want India to get a repeat shock of 2018...
— Geetha Shiva Narayan (@Geetha1202) July 3, 2023
Idar bhi WPl par hu selection kr rahe hai
— Adithya (@Adithya_just) July 3, 2023
RCB blood 🥵
— Vamsi ᴳᵃᵐᵉ ᶜʰᵃⁿᵍᵉᴿ ♔ (@Always_Vamc) July 2, 2023
Sahi Kiya.....women's main bhi apni halat kharab hii hain....sirf hyped player ko lene ka kya fayda
— Lalit Kalla (@KallaMSD) July 2, 2023
Her Idol is virat kohli they not dropped they sacked 😭😂
— FIRE⁴⁵ (@firefire0045) July 2, 2023
Richa deserved
— Lodemon (@Mai_Sagar_Hoon) July 2, 2023
But Renuka whyyy?