New Delhi, Nov 9 — After recovering from a hamstring injury and returning to action via the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, Jemimah Rodrigues has made a comeback to India’s squads for next month’s all-format tour of South Africa. Seam-bowling all-rounder Amanjot Kaur is included in the T20I side after recovering from a back injury.
The all-format tour, which includes one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is, will take place from December 9 to 30. The high-grade hamstring tear sustained in The Hundred led to Jemimah being ruled out of India winning the Asia Cup, retaining its gold medal in Asian Games and winning the white-ball home series against Zimbabwe.
Jemimah returned to competition action on November 2 via Mumbai’s clash against Uttar Pradesh, where she hit an unbeaten 29. After smashing 58 against Delhi, Jemimah slammed a 47-ball 107 against Puducherry, as Mumbai qualified for knockout stage of the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, which commences later this week in Ahmedabad.
Jemimah’s return strengthens India’s batting group in the white-ball formats. Amanjot, meanwhile, has recovered from a back injury which ruled her out of action since the T20I series in South Africa earlier this year. After making a comeback for Punjab in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, Amanjot is back in the India T20I side.
With Jemimah and Amanjot returning to the T20I side, Minnu Mani and Jintimani Kalita make way. Smriti Mandhana will captain India in Test cricket for the first time through the upcoming tour of South Africa. Deepti Sharma is vice-captain for the one-off Test, while Uma Chetry has been left out of the red-ball team and seam-bowling all-rounder Jintimani Kalita is included. Rest of India’s squad largely remains the same for all three formats.
India’s tour of South Africa starts with the one-off Test at St George’s Park in Gqeberha from December 9. It is followed by three ODIs to be played at Boland Park in Paarl on December 16, Newlands in Cape Town on December 19 and Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on December 22.
The T20I series begins at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on December 26, while the last two matches are at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on December 29 and 30. The T20I series will be of immense importance to India and South Africa to fine-tune their preparations for the 2027 Women’s Champions Trophy, to be played in Vadodara and Mumbai. Incidentally, the two venues will also host the 2027 Women’s Premier League (WPL) from January 14 to February 7.
India’s Test squad: Smriti Mandhana (C), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Deepti Sharma (VC), Sree Charani, Sneh Rana, Kranti Gaud, Nandni Sharma, Jintimani Kalita, and Sayali Satghare
India’s ODI squad: Smriti Mandhana (C), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Deepti Sharma (VC), Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Nandni Sharma, Jintimani Kalita, and Sayali Satghare
India’s T20I squad: Smriti Mandhana (C), Shafali Verma (VC), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Niki Prasad, Richa Ghosh (WK), G. Kamalini (WK), Anushka Sharma, Deepti Sharma, Sree Charani, Prema Rawat, Amanjot Kaur, Kranti Gaud, Nandni Sharma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, and Sayali Satghare