Asian Games 2023: India name women's cricket team for Hangzhou - full squad
Harmanpreet Kaur to lead the squad, Smriti Mandhana is vice-captain. Pooja Vastrakar has replaced Anjali Sarvani. Full squad
Cricket
India have named a revised 19-member women’s cricket team, including four stand-by players, for the Asian Games 2023 to be held in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China in September-October.
According to a Board of Control for Cricket in India media release on Friday, Harmanpreet Kaur has been named as the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team while Smriti Mandhana will be the deputy.
Other notable names to make the cut are Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh among others.
The initial 20-member squad list released on July had 15 first-team players and five standby players. On September 16, the BCCI had announced one change to the squad. Pooja Vastrakar, who was earlier a part of the standby list of players, has replaced left-arm pacer Anjali Sarvani in the main squad. Sarvani has suffered a knee injury.
The women’s cricket event at the Asian Games 2023, to be played in the T20 format, will take place on September 19-28. All the matches will be played at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field.
India are sending teams – both men and women – for the Asian Games cricket competition for the first time.
Cricket has been played at the Asian Games twice before – at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014. Pakistan won the women’s events by beating Bangladesh in the final in both editions.
The matches in the upcoming edition of the Asian Games have been accorded international status by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
This is the second time the Indian women’s cricket team will play at a multi-sport event. At the Commonwealth Games 2022 last year in Birmingham, India women won a silver medal after losing to Australia in the final.
Renuka Singh Thakur, who was the highest wicket-taker at the Commonwealth Games 2022 cricket tournament with 11 wickets in five matches, has not been named in the Asian Games squad.
Asian Games 2023 Indian women’s cricket team - full squad
Team India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Pooja Vastrakar, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wicket-keeper), Anusha Bareddy
Standby players: Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque