The Indian women's cricket team will resume their bid to win a first-ever senior International Cricket Council (ICC) event on Friday (October 4) when they take on New Zealand in their opening match of the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
There are high hopes from the Women in Blue having reached the semi-final in each of the last three editions. This is also the first-ever ICC event the Indian team will play since the start of the Women's Premier League (WPL) last year.
While India's squad selection was on expected lines, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and head coach Amol Mazumdar face a headache while selecting the XI.
Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma will open the innings but the number three spot remains a riddle the Indians have failed to sort out yet. Jemimah Rodrigues was the incumbent in the role but her switch to number five has meant the position remains open. India have tried Dayalan Hemalatha, Uma Cherty, and Yasthika Bhatia in the position but no one has managed to cement their position.
If the second warm-up match is anything to go by, Harmanpreet and Jemimah could earn a promotion and bat at number three and four respectively allowing India to field an extra all-rounder.
Richa Ghosh will be the wicket-keeper batter and the team's specialist finisher to. She will get support from handy lower-order batters in Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, and Shreyanka Patil. Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh, and Arundhati Reddy will be specialist bowlers. This will mean that India have six bowling options (3 pacers, 3 spinners) apart from the option of the part-time spin of Harmanpreet and Shafali.
India Likely Playing XI for New Zealand Clash: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Asha Sobhana
India Squad For Women's T20 WC: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan