Keralite Minnu Mani included in Indian T20I squad against Australia

Mumbai: Kerala's top woman cricketer Minnu Mani, who recently led India 'A' against England 'A', has been called up for the three-match T20 series against Australia.
The team was announced here on Monday. The Neetu David-led selection committee has retained the same set of players who played against England recently.

The series will be played at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, where India defeated England in a one-off Test earlier in December, on January 5, 7 and 9.

Meanwhile, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque and Titas Sadhu have been handed maiden call-ups to the Indian ODI squad. 
Off-spin all-rounder Shreyanka recently made her T20I debut in the series against England earlier this month, taking five wickets, including a match-winning 3-19 in the third game. Left-arm spinner Saika also took five wickets in the same series and shined with a decisive spell of 3-22 in the last game.

Titas and Mannat, who were members of India’s U19 Women’s T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year, have also been named in the ODI squad. While Mannat, the left-arm spinner, is yet to make her international debut, Titas has taken four wickets in as many games, while being a member of the gold-medal winning team at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Pace spearhead Renuka Singh Thakur, who made a successful return to international cricket in the series against England after a stress fracture injury, is back in the ODI set-up, along with wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, who recently debuted in Tests against Australia, which India won by eight wickets.

The inclusion of Shreyanka, Saika, Mannat, Titas, Renuka and Richa meant there were no places for experienced left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, leg-spin all-rounder Devika Vaidya, wicketkeeper-batter Uma Chetry, batter Priya Punia, pacers Meghna Singh and Monica Patel, spinners Anusha Bareddy and Rashi Kanojiya in the ODI squad.

India will be back to playing ODIs against Australia at home after a long gap, and the three-game series holds huge importance in terms of preparing for the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, where they will be the host nation. 
The three-match ODI series will be played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai and will kickstart on December 28, followed by the next two matches on December 30 and January 02, 2024, respectively. 

India ODI Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana and Harleen Deol.
India T20I Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Kanika Ahuja and Minnu Mani.
(With IANS inputs)