Off-spinner Shreyanka Patil and leg-spinner Priya Mishra will miss India A women’s tour of Australia after failing late fitness tests, the BCCI confirmed on Thursday. Bengal batter Dhara Gujjar and Uttarakhand all-rounder Prema Rawat have been added to every squad, while wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia joins the one-day group.
“Both players remain under the care of the BCCI Medical Team at the Centre of Excellence and are currently undergoing their Return-to-Play protocols,” a board statement said.
Patil, still only 22, has endured a stop-start year. A broken finger at last July’s Asia Cup was followed by a successful appearance at the T20 World Cup in the UAE, only for another setback to rule her out of WPL 2025. Mishra’s problem is newer but equally frustrating; selectors had pencilled her in for the 50-over and four-day legs, provided she got through rehab. That clearance never came.
The immediate knock-on is a reshuffle across formats. Gujjar was already down for the longer matches and now finds herself on the plane for the T20s as well. Rawat makes the opposite leap, promoted from the shortest format into the one-dayers and the four-day game at Allan Border Field, Brisbane, which rounds off the trip from 21-24 August.
Bhatia’s recall is less of a surprise. She kept tidily for Mumbai Indians in the last WPL and knocked up handy runs in two tour fixtures against an ECB Development XI this month. India staff like her calmness behind the stumps; the ODI squad suddenly feels heavier on experience.
Schedule, at a glance
• T20s – 7, 8, 10 August in Mackay
• ODIs – 13, 15, 17 August at Norths, Brisbane
• Four-day match – 21-24 August, Allan Border Field
Radha Yadav leads all three sides, with Minnu Mani as vice-captain and Shafali Verma providing top-order firepower. Yadav’s left-arm spin also gives the attack balance after the loss of Patil’s off-breaks and Mishra’s leg-spin.
Coach Raj Powar, speaking earlier in the summer, said the A programme is “about giving fringe players real, competitive cricket”. The injuries, while untimely, hand opportunities to Rawat and Gujjar—both uncapped at senior level. If either of them strings together a few performances on quicker Australian pitches, senior selection later in the year is not out of the question.
The updated squads in full
T20: Radha Yadav (capt), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, D Vrinda, Sajana Sajeevan, Uma Chetry (wk), Raghvi Bist, Prema Rawat, Nandini Kashyap (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Dhara Gujjar.
One-day: Radha Yadav (capt), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Tanushree Sarkar, Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Nandini Kashyap (wk), Dhara Gujjar, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Prema Rawat, Yastika Bhatia.
Four-day: Radha Yadav (capt), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Tanushree Sarkar, Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Nandini Kashyap (wk), Dhara Gujjar, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Prema Rawat.
Patil and Mishra stay put in Bengaluru for now, the medical staff erring on the side of caution. With a busy home season looming, India hope the delayed return today prevents a longer lay-off tomorrow.
