Indian women’s team announced for the tour of Australia

The Indian team will be touring Australia to play three Twenty20 Internationals and One Day Internationals (ODI) each from January 26 to February 7. Governor-General of Australia Peter Cosgrove on Monday joined Cricket Australia (CA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Sutherland to announce the introduction of an annual Governor-General’s XI match that will see some of the country’s most talented female cricketers take on touring international teams.

This year, the Governor-General’s XI, featuring a mix of experienced and talented young players, will take on the touring Indian women’s team in a Twenty20 match at the Drummoyne Oval here on January 22. The fixture has been inspired by the annual Prime Minister’s XI match for Australia’s male cricketers, which was instituted by Robert Menzies in 1951. The Governor-General’s XI will be selected by CA in consultation with the Governor-General and will be announced in the days before the match.

The All-India Women Selection Committee has selected the teams for the tour. Mithali Raj will lead the team while her deputy is Jhulan Goswami in both the formats.

ODI women’s team: Mithali Raj (capt), Jhulan Goswami (vice-capt), Smriti Mandhana, MD Thirushkamini, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Niranjana Nagarajan, Sushma Verma, Kalpana R, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Raut, Poonam Yadav, Sneh Rana

T20I women’s team: Mithali Raj (capt), Jhulan Goswami (vice-capt), Smriti Mandhana, MD Thirushkamini, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Niranjana Nagarajan, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, VR Vanitha, Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma.

Fixtures:

T20Is – Jan 26 (Adelaide Oval), Jan 29 (Melbourne), Jan 31 (Sydney)

ODIs – Feb 2 (Canberra), Feb 5 (Hobart), Feb 7 (Hobart)