Smriti Mandhana to Lead India in T20Is v England in Kaur’s Absence

The 22-year-old becomes India’s youngest captain in women’s T20Is, and the third-youngest across formats.

Smriti Mandhana will lead the Indian women’s team in their three-match T20I series against England at home.

(Photo: ICC)

Smriti Mandhana has been named captain of the Indian women’s team to face England in a T20I series at home in the absence of the injured Harmanpreet Kaur.

Kaur, who had been ruled out of the ODIs against the visiting England due to a recurring ankle injury, is yet to recover from the same, and the regular T20I skipper will continue her rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

In her absence, Mandhana – the reigning ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year – will take over the mantle of captaincy for the first time, as she leads a 15-member squad which also features Mithali Raj.

At 22, Mandhana is set to become India women’s youngest T20I captain, and the third-youngest in any format behind Raj and Diana Edulji.

Smriti’s Soaring Rise Continues

The climb up to a leadership position comes as just reward for the dashing left-handed batter, who has been the golden standard of batting in women’s limited overs internationals over the past year.

Mandhana is the top-ranked batswoman in the ICC ODI rankings, and also occupies sixth spot in the rankings for T20I batswomen. She was India’s top-scorer in their most recent assignment in the format, hitting 180 runs in three matches even as India suffered a 3-0 whitewash in New Zealand.

The squad selection came hours after India clinched the ODI series against England with a comprehensive seven-wicket win at Mumbai, where Mandhana top-scored with a 74-ball 63 to lead India’s chase of 162.

ODIs Secured, India Eye English Double

Middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy returns to the side after being dropped for the New Zealand tour, while Priya Punia – who debuted in New Zealand – retains her spot.

Attacking batswoman Bharati Fulmali and left-arm pacer Komal Zanzad are the two new faces in the Indian team.

Both Fulmali and Zanzad featured in the Board President’s XI which took on England in their tour-opener; Fulmali scored a sedate 23, but Zanzad grabbed eyeballs by denting the English top-order with an impressive new-ball burst in a spell of 3/14 in seven overs.

Harleen Deol, who replaced Kaur in the ODI squad against England, keeps her berth in the T20I squad too.

The three-match series will be played in Guwahati, with the first T20I on Monday, 4 March.

India Women Squad for T20Is vs England

• Smriti Mandhana (c)
• Mithali Raj
• Jemimah Rodrigues
• Deepti Sharma
• Taniya Bhatia (wk)
• Bharti Fulmali
• Anuja Patil
• Shikha Pandey
• Komal Zanzad
• Arundhati Reddy
• Poonam Yadav
• Ekta Bisht
• Radha Yadav
• Veda Krishnamurty
• Harleen Deol