India Women's team announced for South Africa T20Is, Anushka Sharma receives a maiden call-up

Harmanpreet Kaur. Pic/PTI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for India's five T20Is tour of South Africa, which is due to start next month. The five-match series will start on April 17 and end with the fifth T20I on April 27.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur will continue to lead the team with star opener Smriti Mandhana as the vice-captain of the team. The likes of Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Bharti Fulmali, Uma Chetry, Anushka Sharma and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh will be key batters in the squad.

Anushka, who played for Gujarat Giants (GG) in the Women's Premier League (WPL) this year, has been called up to the national team for the first time. She was one of GG's finest players during the competition, scoring 177 runs in seven innings at an average of 25.28 with a strike rate of 129.19 and a best score of 44.

GG's season came to an end in the playoffs when they lost to Delhi Capitals (DC), but the all-rounder has been rewarded for her impressive performances throughout the WPL season.

Renuka Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, and Kranti Gaud will lead the pace attack, while Shreyanka Patil, Shree Charani, and an experienced Deepti will form a strong spin combination.

The series' first two matches will be held in Durban on April 17 and 19, and the next two will be held in Johannesburg on April 22 and 25. Benoni will host the final match on April 27.

Harleen Deol and Radha Yadav have been excluded from India's 15-member T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series in South Africa starting April 17. While Radha was a mainstay in the recent World Cup-winning setup, the selectors have opted for fresh talent like uncapped all-rounder Anushka Sharma to test bench strength.

India's squad for the South Africa Tour

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani, Shreyanka Patil, Kashvee Gautam, Bharti Fulmali, Uma Chetry (WK), Anushka Sharma.

(With ANI Input)