Fast bowler Renuka Singh and all-rounder Amanjot Kaur have returned from injuries and have been named in India’s Women’s World Cup squad. Shafali Verma who fell out of favour in the ODI set-up last year, continued to miss out on selection, while Tejal Hasnabis and Sayali Satghare, who were all part of the recent ODI series against England, have been left out of the 15-member squad as well.
Amanjot, has, however been rested for the three-match ODI series against Australia leading up to the World Cup, with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur as well as Amanjot was working on a few small niggles. Renuka has been named in the squad for the series, which starts on September 14 in New Chandigarh. Satghare will also play the three ODIs against Australia and will be replaced by Amanjot for the World Cup.
Amanjot Kaur has risen through the ranks to become one of the key all-rounders for India, and missed the last two ODIs against England last month due to a flare up of her back injury. Renuka has been out of international circuit since December 2024 with a stress fracture.
Neetu David gives her thoughts on the composition of the team.Â
Speaking to reporters, chief selector Neetu David said: “Renuka has been a precious player for us. She had niggles and been out of the game, but is available. Is our main player. This is a main event, great she’s part of the team.”
David also mentioned that Shafali, who recently played in the three one-dayers for India A in Brisbane, is still part of India’s ODI plans in the future. She said: “Shafali played the Australia A series. She’s in the system, it’s not like she’s not. We’ve got our eyes on her. Hope she plays a lot more and garners experience, it’ll help serve India in the 50-overs format.”
Kranti Goud, who finished as the highest wicket-taker in the England ODIs, is among the pace bowlers in the squad alongside Renuka, Amanjot and Arundhati Reddy. Sneh Rana, who made an excellent comeback during the Sri Lanka tri-series, and Shree Charani are the other two specialist spinners in the squad alongside Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s views on the team.Â
Speaking to reporters, captain Harmanpreet Kaur said: “We have Renuka and Kranti to bowl in the powerplay. Then have Shree Charani, Deepti and Radha to bowl in the middle overs. We didn’t want to make a lot of changes and wanted continuity.”
Pratika Rawal, who took over Shafali’s spot in this format last year and has been impressive across her 14 ODIs so far, and is expected to continue opening alongside Smriti Mandhana. Harleen Deol, who has shown consistency with the bat in recent times, will be expected to continue batting at 3 with Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues at 4 and 5 to follow.
Yastika Bhatia, who last played an ODI in October 2024, is also in the squad and will serve as a back-up option for wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh. Though Satghare is not part of the World Cup squad, she is among the standbys alongside Tejal Hasabnis, Prema Rawat, Priya Mishra, Uma Chetry and Minnu Mani. Bhatia made two fifties in the Australia A series, which Hasnabis, Mani and Rawat were also part of.
Co-hosts India and Sri Lanka are set to begin the tournament on September 30. For the record, India have never won the ODI World Cup but have made the final twice in 2005 and 2017.
India World Cup Squad.Â
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, N Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Sneh Rana.
It remains to be seen how the Indian team performs on the big stage when the World Cup gets underway on September 30th.
Also Read: