Shreyanka, Mannat, Saika, Titas earn maiden call-ups to India ODI squad for series against Australia

Mumbai:  Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque and Titas Sadhu have been handed maiden call-ups to India’s ODI squad for the upcoming series against Australia, starting from December 28 at the Wankhede Stadium.

Off-spin all-rounder Shreyanka recently made her T20I debut in the series against England earlier this month, taking five wickets, including a match-winning 3-19 in the third game. Left-arm spinner Saika also took five wickets in the same series, and shined with a decisive spell of 3-22 in the last game.

Titas and Mannat, who were members of India’s U19 Women’s T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year, have also been named in the ODI squad. While Mannat, the left-arm spinner, is yet to make her international debut, Titas has taken four wickets in as many games, while being a member of the gold-medal winning team at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Pace spearhead Renuka Singh Thakur, who made a successful return to international cricket in the series against England after a stress fracture injury, is back in the ODI set-up, along with wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, who recently debuted in Tests against Australia, which India won by eight wickets.

The inclusion of Shreyanka, Saika, Mannat, Titas, Renuka and Richa meant there were no places for experienced left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, leg-spin all-rounder Devika Vaidya, wicketkeeper-batter Uma Chetry, batter Priya Punia, pacers Meghna Singh and Monica Patel, spinners Anusha Bareddy and Rashi Kanojiya in the ODI squad.

India will be back to playing ODIs against Australia at home after a long gap, and the three-game series holds huge importance in terms of preparing for the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, where they will be the host nation. As far as the T20I squad is concerned, the Neetu David-led selection committee has shown consistency, retaining the same set of players who played against England.

The three-match ODI series will be played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai and will kickstart on December 28, followed by next two matches on December 30 and January 02, 2024 respectively. The action will then shift to DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai which will host the three T20Is on January 5, 7 and 9 respectively.

India ODI Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana and Harleen Deol

India T20I Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Kanika Ahuja and Minnu Mani

–IANS