Opening batter Shafali Verma has been excluded from Indian women’s squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia.
The Indian women’s team will tour Australia for a 3-match ODI series. The series starts on December 5th, 2024 and the final ODI will be played on 11th December. The first two games will be played at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane. The 3rd ODI will be played at the WACA Ground in Perth.
Shafali has struggled with the bat in ODIs throughout her career. She averages only 18 in 6 innings ODIs in 2024. She has scored 108 runs. Verma has not scored a fifty since 2023.
2022 was a decent year for her as she scored 367 runs in 15 innings at an average of 26.20 including 3 half-centuries. Overall, she has scored 644 runs in 29 ODIs in her career. She averages 23 at a strike rate of 83.20 and has 4 fifties to her name.
Shafali came to the scene with an image of being an aggressive batter but has failed to perform consistently, especially in white ball format. She has done well in T20Is this year: 531 runs in 19 games at an average of 33.20 including 3 fifties.
The right-hand batter didn’t have a great outing in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. She scored 97 runs in 4 games with a highest score of 43. Her strike rate in the tournament was just 105.43 which is not up to the mark for an opening batter.
Priya Punia to replace Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol returns after injury
Top-order batter Priya Punia returns to the squad for the Australia tour. She has scored 270 runs in 10 ODIs she has played. She averages 30 including 2 fifties to her name.
Punia’s main issue is her strike rate. She has a career strike rate of just 58.56 which is not acceptable in modern-day cricket. Punia will replace Shafali at the top alongside Smriti Mandhana.
All-rounder Harleen Deol returns to the squad after a long break due to injury. Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh also returns to the side after missing the last ODI series against the White Ferns due to her board exams.
India’s squad for ODIs against Australia: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Priya Punia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Yastika Bhatia (WK), Richa Ghosh (WK), Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Radha Yadav, Titas Sadhu, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Saima Thakor
