There is a good case to be made that between the two white-ball formats, the Indian women’s team is better suited to the 50-over format. With an ODI World Cup coming up in home conditions (in perhaps a hybrid model, based on the decision regarding Pakistan’s matches), a tri-nation tournament in Sri Lanka comes as a good opportunity to assess where the team stands.
Playing primarily evening matches in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) recently, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co will have to get used to day fixtures in the subcontinent heat as they face hosts Sri Lanka and a solid South African side led by Laura Wolvaardt.
Under head coach Amol Muzumdar, the Indian think tank has been tinkering with the squads quite a lot in recent times. With Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh the only regulars apart from Harmanpreet, the bowling line-up has witnessed a lot of chopping and changing.
The squad selected for this tri-nation sees Arundhati Reddy and Sneh Rana – a pacer and spinner respectively – making their comebacks. Amanjot Kaur, who had a solid all-round campaign in the WPL, will be looking to regain the spot she lost in the Indian side due to long-term injuries.
There are a few newcomers as well with pace-bowling all-rounder Kashvee Gautam and left-arm spinner Sree Charani earning their call-ups on the back of impressive WPL returns. Madhya Pradesh’s Shuchi Upadhyaya, another left-arm spinner, is a fresh entrant.
India must figure out their bowling combinations quickly, but the fitness of their main pacers has been a concern too. Both Renuka Singh Thakur and Titas Sadhu were unavailable for this series, while Pooja Vastrakar continues to remain sidelined. So the onus is likely to fall on Arundhati and Kashvee, with Amanjot providing the back-up.
But it is in the spin department that the intrigue mainly lies, given the conditions India are likely to encounter in Colombo as well during the World Cup.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Harmanpreet said she is excited about Charani, the 20-year-old who impressed the management enough in the nets to be handed a place in the WPL final playing XI where she picked up a couple of wickets. Harmanpreet, as well as Wolvaardt, also spoke about the importance of managing fitness in what could be harsh conditions.
“Heat is going to play a big role. It’s very important to keep ourselves hydrated. For the last 3-4 months, we have been playing mostly night games and after a long time, we are going to play during the day. Skill is going to remain the same. But keeping ourselves fresh is something I’m giving a lot of importance to,” Harmanpreet said.
Wolvaardt added, “It’s definitely a lot hotter than what we are used to back home. We’re just going into winter now so it’s been a bit of a shock to the system coming here.”
For Sri Lanka, a youthful-looking side features four uncapped players, including a couple of names from the recent U19 World Cup. South Africa, led by the ever-reliable Wolvaardt, will be without star all-rounder Marizanne Kapp.
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Sunday, April 27: vs Sri Lanka
Tuesday, April 29: vs South Africa
Sunday, May 4: vs Sri Lanka
Wednesday, May 7: vs South Africa
All matches will be held at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. They will be day games, starting at 10 am IST. Each team will play four matches each. The top two teams will qualify for the Final, which will be played on May 11
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Arundhati Reddy, Tejal Hasabnis, Sree Charani, Shuchi Upadhyay
Fancode will stream the matches in India. Global broadcasting will be on Sri Lanka Cricket’s YouTube channel.
