Harmanpreet Kaur named skipper as BCCI names strong squad for Women’s T20 World Cup

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has named their team for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Harmanpreet Kaur has been named the captain of the team, with Smriti Mandhana serving as the vice-captain. 

Team India is in Group A with Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Arch Rivals Pakistan. Group B has South Africa, England, Bangladesh, Scotland, and powerhouse West Indies. 

INDIAN TEAM FOR THE T20I WORLD CUP 2024. 🏆 🇮🇳



Harmanpreet (C), Smriti, Shafali, Deepti, Jemimah, Richa, Yashtika, Pooja, Renuka, Hemalata, Asha, Radha, Shreyanka, Sajana, Arundhati. pic.twitter.com/yQOBbScOGd

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 27, 2024

The tournament was originally set to be hosted by Bangladesh. However, Due to the political turmoil, the tournament has been shifted to UAE with Dubai and Sharjah set to host the 23-game event. 

Bangladesh will kick off the campaign against Scotland on 3rd October. India will begin their campaign versus New Zealand on 4th October with the game to be played in Dubai. The same venue will host the massive India vs Pakistan match that is to be played on 6th October. 

Harmanpreet Kaur named captain of Team India

BCCI has a strong squad for the upcoming T20 Women’s World Cup tournament. India will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur as they will look to win their first-ever ICC title. Apart from the game against Pakistan, the Indian side will also face Sri Lanka in the tournament. 

Sri Lanka had famously beaten India to win their first-ever Women’s Asia Cup tournament just a few weeks ago. As per news agency IANS, Shreyanka Patil and Yastika Bhatia, who are named in the team, are subject to fitness. IANS reported that the two players are still not fit after suffering from injuries. 

Wicketkeeper Uma Chetry, along with Tanuja Kanwar and Saima Thakor, have been named as the travelling reserves. Smriti Mandhana, the vice-captain of the team, will be expected to lead the batting unit along with young Shafali Varma. 

Women’s Premier League stars Asha Shobana and Sajana Sajeevan are also part of the team. The middle order will have stars like Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur leading the charge with the bat. 

Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh Thakur, and Radha Yadav will lead the bowling unit. Sneh Rana has been ignored by the selectors which comes as a massive shock to many Indian cricket fans. 

Indian squad for Women’s T20 World Cup

Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia* (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil*, Sajana Sajeevan  

Traveling Reservers - Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor