India have left out wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia and handed 17-year-old G Kamalini a spot in the women’s squad for September’s Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. Barring that switch, and a fitness-dependent recall for all-rounder Shreyanka Patil, the selectors have kept faith with the group that stumbled in the first round of the recent Women’s T20 World Cup.
Patil damaged ankle ligaments during the World Cup match against the Netherlands. She has been picked “subject to fitness clearance”; leg-spinner Prema Rawat, who covered for her at the tournament, misses out.
Harmanpreet Kaur remains captain, with Smriti Mandhana again her deputy.
Why Kamalini?
The teenager owns just one T20I cap – against Sri Lanka last December, when she opened and made a run-a-ball 12 – but her work for Mumbai Indians in the WPL, where she has floated up and down the order and kept neatly, clearly appealed. Across 15 recognised T20s she has 119 runs at 14.87: not earth-shattering, yet the selectors like her range and energy.
Bhatia’s World Cup returns were thin – 41 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 117.14. Shuffled from No. 3 to No. 5 and then parked at No. 7 against Australia (she never made it to the crease), she never quite nailed a role. The tweak behind the stumps hints at a search for sharper middle-order definition.
Games context
The women’s cricket tournament runs from 17 to 22 September and features Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and China. India took gold in Hangzhou 2023, defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs, and the stated aim is to keep that medal.
Spin balance in the air
If Patil does not clear her fitness test, India will lean heavily on Deepti Sharma’s off-spin and a pair of left-armers, Radha Yadav and Nandani Sharma. Renuka Singh leads the seam attack, with Arundhati Reddy providing back-up.
The squad assembles in Bengaluru in late August for a week-long camp and two warm-ups. Only after those sessions will Patil’s ankle – and India’s final bowling mix – be confirmed.
India squad
Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil , Radha Yadav, Nandani Sharma.
subject to fitness clearance
