India will gear up for the Women’s T20 World Cup in February in South Africa by taking part in a tri-series from January 19. The Women in Blue will be involved in the opener, when they take on hosts South Africa at Buffalo Park, before playing West Indies four days later. India again play South Africa on January 28 before their last game of the round robin, on January 30, against the West Indies.

Each team will play a total of four league games. The two-week-long tri-series will see a total of seven T20Is being played, including the final, which will be held on February 2. The two teams with the most points will enter the summit clash, which will also be held at Buffalo Park in East London.

India have named an 18-member squad for the tri-series, which will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur. Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, who are currently taking part in the inaugural ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup, have not been picked, but make a return to the Women’s T20 World Cup squad.

Shikha Pandey’s return makes the biggest headline. The all-rounder last turned out for India against Australia in October 2021, on a tour where she also sent down an “unplayable” inswinger that left the world talking. In Ghosh’s absence, Yastika Bhatia will be the wicketkeeper, with Sushma Verma named as the backup.

IND tri-series v SA & WI: Full India Women team list

Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice Captain), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Sushma Verma (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Sabbhineni Meghana, Sneh Rana, Shikha Pandey