(Cricket news) Indian women’s has been out of action since their comfortable Asia Cup win. Now the women in blue are back for the 5 T20Is against Australia at home. This will be an important series in preparation of the World Cup next year. Australia have been a thorn in India’s side for quite a while which makes this series even more interesting. BCCI has announced the squad with a few surprising calls and a few expected ones. The first two T20Is will be played at the DY Patil stadium while the next three will take place at CCI.

India’s squad for the 5 T20Is against Australia-

Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Devika Vaidya, S Meghana, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Harleen Deol

Net bowlers – Monika Patel, Arundhati Reddy, SB Pokharkar, Simran Bahadur

Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Verma, Rodrigues, Deepti, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh Thakur and Richa Ghosh were always going to make the squad, so there are no surprises there. Despite a slump in form S. Meghana and Meghna Singh have kept their place in the squad. Yastika Bhatia and Harleen Deol who are regulas in ODIs are back in the T20I squad. Dayalan Hemalata and KP Navgire who were given a chance in the squad are dropped after failing to make an impact. 

Taniya Bhatia, who was a stand-by for the Asia Cup is dropped while the other stand-by Simran Dil Bahadur has been made a net bowler. Medium pacer Anjali Sarvani has been called up for the first time after impressive domestic performances. All-rounder Devika Vaidya is back in the Indian side after a four year absence. He leg spin with the ball will be very useful along with her ability with the willow. Poonam Yadav’s loss in form has meant that the team doesn’t have a leg spinner, Vajdya will be looking to fill that void.

Pooja Vastrakar is injured and will be a huge miss for India in all 3 departments. The decision that has raised quite a few eyebrows is the absence of Sneh Rana. Since her return to international cricket the all-rounder has been performing consistently for India and she has won matches for India. The reason for her omission was not specified like Vastrakar’s was therefore it can only be assumed that she was dropped. The decision is a shocking one and it could prove to be a big mistake.

Also read: India’s ideal playing XI for the ODIs against Bangladesh