The All-India Women’s selection committee, on Friday, met in Surat to pick the squad for the West Indies tour. India Women are scheduled to play three ODIs and five T20 Internationals in the Caribbean. They are currently involved in a five-match T20I series against South Africa Women at home and are leading the series 1-0 after two matches. Mithali Raj who retired from T20I format recently continues to lead the ODI side with Harmanpreet Kaur being the captain in the shortest format.

There are no changes to the squad which is currently playing the T20I series against South Africa. Shafali Verma, who had forgettable debut in the first T20I, has been retained and looks set to get more chances in the near future. India Women are also looking to build the team for the T20 World Cup which is set to be played next year in Australia.

As far as the ODI squad is concerned, it is also the same which has been picked for the 50-over contest against South Africa Women. Mithali Raj has already expressed her desire to play the World Cup in 2021 and the selection panel will be keen on building the team looking at the future.

Jhulan Goswami also returns to the action

Another veteran Jhulan Goswami who has quit from the T20Is will be back in the action and will travel to the Caribbean shores as the spearhead of the pace attack. The tour is also clashing with the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) which has led to India’s top cricketers missing out on playing in the tournament to stay fresh.

The ongoing series against South Africa (including the ODIs) will end on October 14 after which the team are expected to embark on the West Indies tour on October 23. The three-match ODI series in West Indies will get underway on November 1 and the tour will conclude on November 20.

Indian Women’s ODI squad: Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Punam Raut, D Hemalatha, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Priya Punia, Sushma Verma.

Indian Women’s T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Anuja Patil, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy.