India Women name squad for Bangladesh T20Is, Asha, Sajana earn maiden call-up
Leg-spinner Asha Sobhana and all-rounder Sajeevan Sajana earned maiden call-ups as India named a strong 16-member squad for their T20I series against Bangladesh.
33-year-old Sobhana grabbed the limelight after she picked up a 5-wicket haul against UP Warriorz while playing for Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024.
She finished the tournament as the second-highest wicket-taker with 12 wickets at an average of 15.14. In the final against Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, she got the crucial wickets of Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen, and had figures of 3-0-14-2.
Sajana, on the other hand, hogged the headlines for Mumbai after she pulled off a last-ball six against DC in the opening game of the tournament at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Thereafter, she got scores of 24, 22* and 30 to show consistency with the bat in hand. She is also a handy off-break bowler, picking up 2 wickets in the WPL, one of which was of Beth Mooney.
The focus will also be on Shreyanka Patil, who won the Purple Cap in the WPL with 13 wickets to his name despite missing a couple of matches due to injury. The 21-year-old tweaker also picked up 4 wickets in the final against DC, although it was Sophie Molineux who won the Player of the Match award.
India will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur in Bangladesh with Smriti Mandhana as her deputy. The 5-match series is also the start of India’s preparations for the T20 World Cup to be held later this year. The series will take place from April 28 to May 9 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
India squad for Bangladesh T20Is
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Sajana Sajeevan, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Radha Yadav, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu