The India A women squads for the home series against England A were named on Tuesday, with Anushka Sharma set to captain the T20 and one-day sides and Minnu Mani leading the multi-day team. The BCCI women’s selection committee picked three squads for the Muthoot FinCorp all-format series, which has three T20s, three one-day matches and one multi-day fixture. The T20s will be played in Pune from November 30, and the rest of the series moves to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
India A women T20 squad in Pune
The India A women T20 squad has 15 players, with G Kamalini and Shipra Giri as the wicketkeepers and Minnu Mani as vice-captain. Vrinda Dinesh, Tanisha Singh, Sanika Chalke, Niki Prasad, Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Vaishnavi Sharma, Prema Rawat, Saima Thakor, Monica Patel and Kashvee Gautam complete the group, along with captain Anushka Sharma. The three T20s will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on November 30, December 3 and December 5.
Anushka Sharma will also lead the India A women one-day side, with Minnu Mani again her deputy. The one-day squad brings in Priya Punia, Tejal Hasabnis, Amisha Bahukandi, Shabnam Shakil and Akshita Bhagat, while Sanika Chalke, Amanjot Kaur, Vaishnavi Sharma, Prema Rawat and Monica Patel drop out from the T20 group. G Kamalini and Shipra Giri keep the gloves, and Shreyanka Patil, Saima Thakor and Kashvee Gautam stay in the side. The three one-day matches will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on December 8, 11 and 14.
India A women multi-day squad at Wankhede
Minnu Mani will captain the India A women multi-day side, with Tejal Hasabnis as her deputy. The 15-player squad has Shubha Satheesh, Priya Punia, Tanisha Singh, Purvaja Verlekar, Henreitta Perera, Shipra Giri and Uma Chetry as the wicketkeepers, Shreyanka Patil, Saima Thakor, Akshita Bhagat, Amisha Bahukandi, Happy Kumari and Shabnam Shakil. The four-day match starts at the Wankhede Stadium on December 19, and it closes a series that runs from November 30 to December 22.
The India A women series opens with the first T20 in Pune on November 30 at 1 pm, followed by the second on December 3 and the third on December 5, both at 6 pm. The one-day leg starts on December 8 at 9 am, with the second game on December 11 and the third on December 14, both at 2 pm. The multi-day match begins on December 19 at 9.30 am. All seven fixtures are part of the England Women A tour of India, which the BCCI announced with the squads.
Shreyanka Patil returns to India A women squads
Shreyanka Patil has been named in all three India A women squads, a return to the A setup after she was left out of India’s squads for the series against South Africa. The off-spin all-rounder last played for India in the Asian Games final against Sri Lanka, and her inclusion in every squad points to a fresh chance to press for a recall. Amanjot Kaur, who returned to India’s T20I squad against South Africa after a long injury layoff, has been picked for the T20s. Her presence adds an all-round option to a group that already has Minnu Mani and Shreyanka Patil in that role.
The series is sponsored by Muthoot FinCorp, and it gives both boards a long look at players pushing for senior selection. England A arrive with their own group of young players, and the seven matches will test both sides across formats. The T20s in Pune come first, and the longer games in Mumbai will ask more of the batters and the bowlers as the series goes on.
Anushka Sharma has led India A before, having captained the side against England A and Australia A earlier this year. That record made her a natural choice to lead both white-ball squads, with Minnu Mani beside her as vice-captain in each. Minnu Mani then steps up to lead the multi-day side, with Tejal Hasabnis as her deputy. The series gives the India A women group seven matches in 23 days, a full run of games against the same opposition before the year ends.