Pacer Shabnam Shakil Added to India’s Squad for Series Against South Africa

Shabnam Shakil was a member of India's ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup-winning team in 2023.

Shabnam Shakil has been added to India's squad.

(Photo: PTI)

Teenage fast-bowler Shabnam Shakil has been added to India’s squad for all three formats in the ongoing multi-format series against South Africa by the Women’s Selection Committee, said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday. India have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Hailing from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, right-arm fast-bowler Shabnam was a member of India's ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup-winning team in 2023 in South Africa, where she appeared in two matches and got just one wicket.

She is known for her stump-to-stump lines and can even pull off a bouncer, as well as clock speeds upwards of 110 kmph. Shabnam was inspired to be a fast bowler by her father Mohammed Shakil, a Navy official who played club cricket in the state.

She was roped in by Gujarat Giants for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for a price of INR 10 lakh ahead of the inaugural season. In this year’s Women's Premier League (WPL), Shabnam, who idolises the legendary Jhulan Goswami, was handed a debut by GG at just 16, making her the youngest debutant in the competition’s history.

In the same season, she made heads turn through her searing spell of 3-11, including bowling 19 dot balls and helped her team win by eight runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Her scalps in that game included Alyssa Healy, Chamari Athapaththu, and her India U-19 teammate Shweta Sehrawat.

Following the conclusion of the ODI series in Bengaluru on 23 June, India and South Africa will play a one-off Test from 28 June to 1 July, and the three T20Is to be held in Chennai. India will be playing their third Test in seven months, having defeated both England and Australia in back-to-back games in December last year at Mumbai.

The T20I series, happening on 5, 7 and 9 July, will serve as a platform for India and South Africa to finetune their combinations ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup happening in Bangladesh from 3-20 October.

India’s ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Uma Chetry (WK), Dayalan Hemalatha, Radha Yadav, Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Priya Punia, Shabnam Shakil

India’s Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Shubha Satheesh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Uma Chetry (WK), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghna Singh, Priya Punia, Shabnam Shakil

India’s T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Uma Chetry (WK), Richa Ghosh (WK), Jemimah Rodrigues, Sajana Sajeevan, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Asha Sobhana, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Shabnam Shakil. Standby: Saika Ishaque