India have placed their faith in a tried and tested core group to defend their Women’s Asia Cup title. All the players selected were part of the 17-member squad for the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, with Amanjot Kaur and Shabnam Shakil missing out.
Shweta Sehrawat, Saika Ishaque, Tanuja Kanwar, and Meghna Singh have been picked as travelling reserves when India travel to Sri Lanka, the team they beat in 2022 and the team who will host this edition of the tournament.
India’s batting looks solid with Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana at the top and captain Harmanpreet Kaur to follow. Richa Ghosh and Uma Chetry are the wicketkeeping options. Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma’s all-round skills should also help the team management fill in the other spots and balance the XI based on conditions.
India’s first match of the Asia Cup will be against Pakistan on July 19. They will take on UAE and Nepal in the group stage in the bid to make the knockout stages. Dambulla will host all 15 games of the tournament, including the semi-finals and the final.
India are currently hosting South Africa in a multi-format tour and are trailing 0-1 in the T20I series after sweeping the ODI series 3-0 and winning the one-off Test. The Asia Cup will provide preparation for them ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October.
India Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, D Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajeevan Sajana
