Women's T20 Asia Cup 2022: India announce 15-member squad, Kiran Navgire included

A day after the dates for the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2022 were confirmed, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s squad for the continental event. A squad of 15 members has been selected for the tournament with two players traveling as reserves. The tournament will be hosted by Bangladesh from October 1 to 15.

The Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format and Harmanpreet Kaur will be leading the Indian side, with Smriti Mandhana as her deputy. The squad is pretty much similar to the one that recently played against England in a three-match T20I series. India has the best winning record at the Asia Cup as the Women in Blue have won the tournament a record six times.

Regular members like Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad among others have been named in the main squad. Kiran Navgire, who made her debut recently against England, has earned a spot on the main roster. Her track record in the 20-over format has been amazing, and she would be the player to watch out for.

The Indian team is currently in England for a bilateral series. India lost the T20I series by 1-2 but the players showed some great performances both with the bat and the ball. Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana have been very impressive in the 20-over format, and so has Jemimah Rodrigues.

The young batter could not play the England series due to injury but is expected to be back in action for the Asia Cup. Richa Ghosh has been included as the first-choice wicketkeeper after she impressed with her glovework against England. Taniya Bhatia and Simran Bahadur have been named as the standby players.

After a four-year hiatus, the Women's Asia Cup will mark its return. The round-robin structure for the seven-team competition will see each team play six games in the league stage before the top four teams move on to the semifinals. All the games will be played at Sylhet, and India will open their campaign on the first day in the game against Sri Lanka.

India’s squad for Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2022: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Sabbineni Meghana, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Sneh Rana, Dayalan Hemalatha, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, K.P. Navgire

Standby players: Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia, Simran Dil Bahadur.