Shafali Verma omitted from India’s side to face Australia for the ODI series down under starting from December.
Shafali Verma is the biggest casualty of the Indian women’s side as she has been dropped from the side to face Australia.
After missing the home ODIs against New Zealand because of her board exams, Richa Ghosh has rejoined the team. The 16-man team for the three ODIs in Brisbane and Perth on December 5, 8, and 11 included call-ups for fast bowler Titas Sadhu, offspinner Minnu Mani, and batters Priya Punia and Harleen Deol.
All-rounder Pooja Vastrakar, who was rested against New Zealand, is also not playing. As is legspinner Asha Sobhana, who was out for the New Zealand series due to injury. Offspinner Shreyanka Patil, spin-bowling all-rounder D Hemalatha, uncapped seamer Sayali Satghare, and backup wicketkeeper Uma Chetry are all absent from the team.
Shafali has scored 108 runs at an average of 18 in six games this year. But she hasn’t been able to dominate ODIs for a while. Yastika Bhatia opened with Mandhana and Ghosh batted at No. 3 the previous time she was dropped in the format. This was following the first of the three-match series against Australia at home in December 2023. Yastika may open in Shafali’s place, while Punia may try out for the No. 3 position.
Following strong domestic results, Punia made a comeback against South Africa in June of this year, their third ODI since 2023. She was a member of the India team after appearing only in the last ODI match against South Africa. a trip to Australia in August, during which she had little success. Yastika batted at number three during the October New Zealand series in Ahmedabad, but she was dropped. Despite playing three ODIs this year at the third and fourth positions, Hemalatha was unable to maintain her position.
After nearly a year, Deol is another well-known name returning to the fold. Despite scoring two fifties in her meagre ten ODI appearances since her 2019 debut, the middle-order batswoman was never awarded a sustained run in the format. Her last ODI was also against Australia at home last year.
Australia and England are tied for first place in the Championship, which includes the ODIs. India will be the hosts of the 2025 World Cup by default. While Australia’s most recent ODI match was a 2-1 series success in Mirpur against Bangladesh in March. Harmanpreet Kaur and company are also fresh off a 2-1 victory over New Zealand.
Aside from that, players like Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika, and Deepti Sharma are presently playing for the WBBL in Australia.