India announce 15-member squad for upcoming series against Ireland-W

India’s 15-member squad for upcoming series against Ireland-W revealed (Photo by Chris Hyde – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

The Women’s Selection Committee has revealed the 15-member squad for India Women for their upcoming three-match ODI series against Ireland Women. The three-match series will commence on January 10, 2025. All the matches are set to be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.

Full-time skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, has been rested along with right-arm medium pacer, Renuka Singh. While the exact reason for the same has not been mentioned, it is anticipated to be a case of workload management for the two players.

Left-handed top-order batter, Smriti Mandhana, will be leading the side. Seasoned all-rounder, Deepti Sharma, will be Smriti’s second in charge. After a successful debut ODI series against West Indies Women, Pratika Rawal has been deservedly backed. As usual, the hosts will possess a strong batting core of Harleen Deol, and Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle-order.

Both Richa Ghosh and Uma Chetry have been added to the roster. It will be interesting to see whether Chetry gets handed her ODI debut. Apart from Deepti, Raghvi Bist and Sayali Satghare will be expected to be vital as the all-rounders in the side.

The spin-bowling department contains Tanuja Kanwar, Priya Mishra, and Minnu Mani. All three possess varying styles and could be expected to be handed a significant chunk of bowling. Saima Thakor and Titas Sadhu constitute the seam-bowling options for the side. While the latter had a relatively better run in the white-ball series against the Women in Maroon, Thakor did not quite have a fruitful series regarding both economy rate and wickets.

The series’ first game will be the first women’s ODI to be played at the venue in Khandheri. The most recent international fixture was the third Test of the five-match series against England earlier last year.

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IND-W squad for ODI series against IRE-W: Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana (c), Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma (vc), Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Sayali Satghare, Tanuja Kanwar, Priya Mishra, Minnu Mani, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu.