Indian wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh will miss the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand as he prepares for his Class 12 exams. Ghosh, who recently turned 21, has been a regular in India’s internationals since making her debut at just 16 in 2020.
Harmanpreet Kaur retained India’s captaincy for the three-match ODI series scheduled in Ahmedabad on October 24, 27 and 29. Kaur’s captaincy has come under scrutiny following India’s group-stage exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup in the UAE, where an early defeat to New Zealand derailed their campaign.
With Ghosh unavailable, the women’s selection committee named a 16-member squad including four new faces. All-rounders bowlers Sayali Satghare and Saima Thakor, leg-spinner Priya Mishra and middle-order batsman Tejal Hasabnis earned first call-ups. Saima was a traveling reserve for the T20 World Cup while Priya was named as a non-travelling reserve for the tournament.
Apart from Ghosh, legspinner Asha Sobhana is also missing from the team due to injury and Pooja Vastrakar has been rested for the series. Harmanpreet Kaur will continue as captain and Smriti Mandhana will serve as her deputy. India’s World T20 campaign ended in disappointment after a narrow nine-run loss to defending champions Australia prevented them from reaching the semi-finals. After the debacle, the selection committee has been injecting new talent into the squad, with the newcomers impressing during India A’s multi-format tour of Australia earlier this year.
Despite the changes, most of the members of the T20 squad for the World Cup were retained for the ODI series. However, Sajana Sajeevan’s absence from the squad was left unaddressed in the BCCI’s official announcement. Sajeevan, who featured in two matches during the T20 World Cup against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, was dropped for the final group stage match against Australia.
The first ODI will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium on October 24, followed by the second and third matches on October 27 and 29 at the same venue.
India Women’s Squad for ODI Series vs New Zealand:
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, D Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Sayali Satghare, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Tejal Hasabnis, Saima Thakor, Priya Mishra, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil.
