The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a balanced squad of 15 for the 9th edition of the Women’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup, scheduled from October 3rd to 20th, 2024, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The national selectors have maintained their faith retaining 14 of the 15 players who toured Sri Lanka for the 9th edition of the Women’s Asia Cup in July 2024, where India finished as runners-up. The only change is the return of Yastika Bhatia, though her availability is subject to fitness.
Yastika’s availability has pushed Uma Chetry and Saima Thakor and Tanuja Kanwer to the traveling reserves. Raghvi Bist (19) and Priya Mishra (20) are named as non-traveling reserves, rewarded for their impressive showings during the India A tour of Australia.
Shreyanka Patil, who was ruled out midway through the Asia Cup, also returns, but her participation is also subject to fitness. The squad features frontline spinners Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, and Asha Sobhana. India’s pace attack includes Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, and the regular Pooja Vastrakar.
In the batting lineup, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana will open alongside Shafali Verma, with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur anchoring the middle order. Jemimah Rodrigues, Dayalan Hemalatha, and keeper-batter Richa Ghosh will provide further strength to a formidable batting unit.
India’s squad for the 2024 World Cup:
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia* (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil* (subject to fitness), Sajana Sajeevan
Traveling reserves: Uma Chetry (WK), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor
Non-Travelling Reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra
*Subject to fitness
Following their runner-up finish in 2020 and a semi-final exit in 2023, India will aim for a better finish this time around. They are likely to play a five-match T20I series in the UAE before the World Cup and have confirmed warm-up matches against South Africa and the West Indies. In Group A of the World Cup, India will face Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka in the league stages.
