Vadodara, Oct 22 — India pacer Renuka Singh Thakur has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, with the selectors drafting in seam-bowling all-rounder Jintimani Kalita as her replacement.
Renuka was a part of India's squad that won the ODI World Cup last year at home. But Renuka didn’t get to play in India’s Asia Cup triumph in Dubai and the Asian Games gold medal win in Japan, despite being a part of the squad.
The BCCI said Renuka, who last played an ODI game against Australia in Hobart earlier this year, was still working on building up the bowling volume of sending down ten overs, which is needed for playing the 50-over format, at its Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, and would not be available for the series.
“She is still building up the bowling volume required for the 50-over format at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Jintimani, who was part of the just-concluded T20I series in Raipur, has travelled with the team to Baroda, where the ODI series will be played from tomorrow,” said BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia in a statement on Thursday.
Jintimani, who was retained by Gujarat Giants ahead of the 2027 Women’s Premier League (WPL), will join the Indian ODI fast bowling group featuring Kranti Gaud, Nandni Sharma and Sayali Satghare.
The spin department wears a strong look, with vice-captain Deepti Sharma, Sree Charani and Vaishnavi Sharma among the options available to the Indian team management. The series will also mark the first ODI series India will play since Smriti Mandhana’s appointment as the side’s new all-format skipper.
Zimbabwe will face a formidable challenge against the reigning ODI world champions at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara. All three matches will begin at 2 pm IST, with the first ODI on Friday, the second match on Sunday and the final game on Wednesday.
India's updated ODI Squad: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol, Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma (vc), Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Vaishnavi Sharma, Nandni Sharma, Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, and Jintimani Kalita