Shafali Verma makes her comeback to India’s T20I squad for the first time since October 2024, alongside Sneh Rana, whose last appearance was at the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup. Both have been included in a 15-member squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of England, commencing on 28 June.
It’s an exciting moment for seam-bowling allrounders Kranti Goud and Sayali Satghare, as well as left-arm spinners N Shree Charani and Shuchi Upadhyay, who all receive their maiden T20I call-ups. Notably, Charani and Upadhyay played in the One Day International (ODI) tri-series in Sri Lanka, which India won recently. Goud was drafted into the squad during the series due to Kashvee Gautam’s leg injury.
After being excluded from the national team post the home ODI series against New Zealand, Shafali returned to domestic cricket with great success. She was the top scorer in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy with 527 runs at a strike rate of 152.31 and an average of 75.29, and impressed in the Senior Women’s One Day Challenger Trophy as well. She also contributed significantly to the Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025, scoring 304 runs across nine innings with a strike rate of 152.76.
Meanwhile, Sneh Rana’s inclusion comes on the back of her performance in WPL 2025 as she replaced the injured Shreyanka Patil in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru team, taking six wickets in five matches. Notably, she scored 26 runs in one over against UP Warriorz. Interestingly, despite not having a central contract with BCCI, Rana was named Player of the Series in the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka.
Despite these achievements, Shafali does not find a spot in the ODI squad, which remains largely the same following their tri-series triumph. The only new face is Satghare, who debuted in ODIs against Ireland earlier this year and took three wickets over three matches.
Opening the batting for India will likely be Pratika Rawal, with an average of 63.80 in 11 ODIs, pairing with Smriti Mandhana. Harleen Deol is set to bat at number three. Yastika Bhatia serves as the backup wicketkeeper to Richa Ghosh, while Tejal Hasabnis is the spare batter.
Shree Charani and Upadhyay bolster the spin attack, joining seasoned campaigners Deepti Sharma and Rana. Unfortunately, there is no update on fast bowlers Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar and Titas Sadhu, all absent from the tri-series due to injuries.
The tour consists of five T20Is followed by three ODIs, running concurrently with the men’s five-match Test series. It also marks India’s last ODI series before they host the Women’s World Cup later this year.
India’s T20I Squad against England:
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, and others.
