The Indian team will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, with Smriti Mandhana serving as her assistant. Pooja Vastrakar can no longer play because of an injury.
Anjali Sarvani, a potential uncapped left-arm bowler, was chosen by the selectors on Friday for the forthcoming five-match T20I series against Australia that will start on December 9 in Mumbai in place of injured all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar. In a statement released by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, Pooja, who captained India C in the Women’s T20 Challenger in Raipur, was “ruled out due to an injury and was not considered for selection.” Anjali, a 25-year-old Andhra left-arm medium pacer, made an impression with her disciplined bowling performance during India A’s runners-up finish in the Women’s Challenger earlier last month under the leadership of Poonam Yadav.
Anjali was exceptional against India D and finished with figures of 2 for 11 from her three overs to clinch them a final spot. Overall, she bagged three wickets from four matches and returned with a tidy economy rate of 5.50.
The Australia series will also mark the return of Maharashtra left-handed allrounder Devika Vaidya after more than four years.
The 25-year-old leg-spin allrounder, who made her debut way back in 2014 in a T20I against South Africa, last made her international appearance against England in an ODI match in 2018.
Devika played a match-winning 27-ball 41 for India B in their four-wicket win over India C in the T20 Challenger.
Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the side, while Smriti Mandhana will be her deputy.
India will play the first two T20Is at the DY Patil stadium on December 9 and 11, before moving to CCI for the remaining three fixtures on December 14, 17 and 20.
The series will mark India’s build-up to the T20 World Cup in South Africa beginning February 10.