Bengal’s rookie batter Richa Ghosh was the only new face in a 15-member Harmanpreet Kaur-led India squad announced on Sunday for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia, starting on February 21.
The team has no other surprises and the 15-year-old Shafali Verma from Haryana will also be participating in her first global event following some good performances at the international level in her debut season.
According to Cricbuzz, the 16-year-old Ghosh was a stalwart for the Bengal Under-19 team last season. She has now been rewarded for her exploits in the recent women’s Challenger Trophy, where she had scores of 15 (17 balls), 36 (26), 22 (17) and 25 (26). The 25 in the first match came in a low-scoring affair where she was the top-scorer for the Smriti Mandhana-led side who finished runners-up.
Anuja Patil and Mansi Joshi were the two regulars to miss out, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad was recalled after missing the West Indies series.
The selectors also announced a 16-member squad for a tri-series in Australia prior to the T20 World Cup, with Nuzhat Parveen being added as the 16th member. That tournament starts on January 31 and also features England.
T20 World Cup quad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodriguez, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Richa Ghosh, Tania Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy.
Tri-Series squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodriguez, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Richa Ghosh, Tania Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Nuzhat Parveen.
(With inputs from PTI)