Image Credit- BCCI
While WPL breakout players Shreyanka Patil and Saika
Ishaque have received debut T20I call-ups for the three-match series against
England starting in Mumbai on December 6, Renuka Singh has recovered from a
stress strain.
Satheesh Shubha, a 24-year-old left-handed opener for
Karnataka, was also called up for the first time in his Test career after he
showed promise in the four-day practise match before being selected with scores
of 49 and 99. Renuka and Ishaque are included in the 15-man team led by
Harmanpreet Kaur for the two consecutive Test matches against Australia and
England.
This will be India’s first home Test match since
November 2014. They have only appeared in two Tests since then, one in England
and one in Australia. The fact that this will be India’s first Test match in
more than 20 years without retiring greats Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami means
that the forthcoming matches will be a guard change in many ways. In addition,
Harmanpreet will be leading India in a test for the first time.
During Royal Challengers Bangalore’s otherwise
miserable inaugural WPL season, Patil was one of the team’s bright spots. She
also made history earlier this year when she played in the women’s CPL for
Guyana Amazon Warriors, becoming the first Indian player to do so and leading
the league in wickets taken. Patil is presently included in the India A team
for the England A three-match Twenty20 series.
Ishaque, a left-arm spinner, was instrumental in the
Mumbai Indians’ historic march to the maiden WPL championship in March. With 15
wickets, Ishaque tied for second place in the tournament’s top wicket takers,
and her versatility as a bowler won her praise. With Ishaque in the T20I team,
veteran left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad has no place, and Devika Vaidya
has been dropped due to Patil’s call-up.
The Indian women’s squad will play a lengthy schedule
of matches leading up to the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next year, starting
with the forthcoming home series. India’s schedule includes a Test match
against Australia, three Twenty20 Internationals, a Test match against England,
and six white-ball matches.
After Hrishikesh Kanitkar led the squad in an acting
capacity, Amol Muzumdar, the former captain of Mumbai, takes over for the first
time as head coach for the forthcoming series.