India have announced a settled, Harmanpreet Kaur-led 15-woman squad for the T20 Asia Cup, set to start on 19 July.
India did not throw out any surprises when they announced their squad for the 2024 Asia Cup, which will be played entirely in Sri Lanka. The 15-strong squad comprises of the same players picked for India's ongoing three-match T20I series against South Africa, with only Amanjot Kaur and Shabnam Shakil missing out from the group of the 17 picked against South Africa.
Kaur's side is currently trailing against South Africa, having lost the first T20I by 12 runs. However, they won the ODI series 3-0 and the one-off Test by ten wickets.
India beat resilient South Africa by 10 wickets to complete another memorable win.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 1, 2024
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Women's Asia Cup 2024: When does the tournament start?
India will start their Asia Cup title defence against arch-rivals Pakistan on July 19 in Dambulla.
With teams divided into two groups of four each, 12 group stage games will be played, followed by two semi-finals and the final on July 28.
Women's Asia Cup 2024: India team news
India's chances of defending their title and becoming Asia Cup champions for a record eighth time will ride on their top order, with opening batters Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, as well as aggressive keeper-batter Richa Ghosh all in good form.
India will also look to Deepti Sharma, who was the leading wicket-taker in India's ODI series against South Africa, to provide the breakthroughs in spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka.
Although important in its own right, the Asia Cup will also offer India valuable preparation for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in Bangladesh in October, just two months after the Asia Cup ends.
Kaur and head coach Amol Mazumdar will look to fine-tune this India side during the Asia Cup and find their strongest eleven for the World Cup, in which India will seek their first-ever title, having fallen just short against eventual winners Australia in the semi-finals last time around.
India Squad for Women's Asia Cup 2024
Batters
Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana (vc), Sajeevan Sajana
Wicketkeepers
Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry
All-rounders
Dayalan Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil
Bowlers
Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav
Travelling Reserves:
Shweta Sehrawat, Saika Ishaque, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh
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