IndvsEng: Shafali Verma Gets Maiden ODI Call-up; Shikha Pandey And Taniya Bhatia Return

Shafali Verma ODI Debut: 17-year-old batting sensation Verma has been named in the 21-member India Women squad for the upcoming seven-match tour of England. This is Verma's maiden call up to the Indian ODI and the Test squad, starting next month.

A day after the Indian cricket board (BCCI) appointed Ramesh Powar as the India women's team coach, the selectors announced one-off Test and three ODIs, set to be led by Mithali Raj, while Captain Harmanpreet Kaur will take over the charge in T20 Internationals. Along with Verma, seasoned pacer Shikha Pandey, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and wicketkeeper-batter Taniya Bhatia have been named in all three formats. World No. 1 batter Verma, Pandey and Bhatia were controversially overlooked for the South Africa ODI series in March.

Since the senior left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad is nursing an injury and also recovering from COVID-19, the uncapped Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Indrani Roy has been selected for her maiden international call-up, while Sneh Rana, who made the last of her 12 India appearances back in February 2016, returns to the squad as well, ESPNcricinfo reported.

Roy was the leading run-scorer in the Senior One Day Trophy 2020-21 and Rana was the 'Player of the Final' for her all-round show while representing Indian Railways. A source told PTI that both Verma and Pandey were two of the earliest names listed in all squads while Swetha Verma of UP, whose name was discussed but missed out on the selection since she hasn't even scored 200 runs in a season.

Former cricketer and women’s team coach WV Raman, who was replaced as the coach on Thursday, has written to president Sourav Ganguly and NCA cricket head Rahul Dravid about the persisting "prima donna culture" in Indian women's cricket. According to sources, a few former women cricketers and senior players have been misusing their power in the system and Raman, who has been replaced by Ramesh Powar, told BCCI president that it needs changing.

Feature Image Credit: ICC