India announced the squad for the upcoming tour of England in September, where they will play three T20Is and as many ODIs.
Veteran seamer Jhulan Goswami returns to the side after missing the Sri Lanka tour in July amidst questions over her future. Jemimah Rodrigues, who last featured in an ODI in July 2021, also found a place in the side. The 22-year-old batter was ruled out of the Hundred league on the same day due to an injury she sustained during the Commonwealth Games.
Kiran Prabhu Navgire, who made headlines for the fastest fifty in the women’s T20 challenge in May, received her maiden international call-up for the T20I series. The powerful striker of the ball, who hails from Maharashtra and plays for Nagaland, made her name with a stunning 162 not-out against Arunachal Pradesh in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy earlier this year. She topped the run-scoring charts in the tournament with 525 runs, including 54 fours and 35 sixes. Her six-hitting ability has impressed one and all.
India’s indecisiveness in the wicket-keeping department continued as Richa Ghosh replaced Yastika Bhatia in the T20I team while Taniya Bhatia kept her place in both squads.
Dayalan Hemalatha, all-rounder who last played for India last year, was also named in both the white-ball setups. She top scored for Railways with 272 runs in the 2021-22 domestic T20 tournament. Later she displayed her all-round skill set in the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy, picking eight wickets and scoring 67 runs at a strike-rate of 118.
Batter Harleen Deol was only picked in the fifty-over side, while leg-spinner Poonam Yadav could not make it to either squads. Poonam was one of the standbys for the Commonwealth Games, having lost her position of the primary spinner to Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Radha Yadav.
India will begin the England tour with three T20 internationals taking place on September 10, 13 and 15. They will then play three ODIs on September 18, 21 and 24, respectively, as a part of the ICC Women’s Championship.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side would want to leave the disappointment of the CWG final loss against Australia behind them and start afresh. India were fantastic in the Commonwealth Games, where they won two out of the three group matches and then defeated England in the semi-final. With the next year’s T20 World Cup in South Africa approaching fast, India will look at the England series as a good preparation ground.
