BCCI announces India women squad for Commonwealth Games

Cricket will also be a part of the Commonwealth Games this year which will start from 28 July to 8 August. Women's cricket will also be a part of the event this time. BCCI has announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. All-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur will be leading the side in the tournament.

Cricket has been added again to the games after the gap of 24 years. Women's cricket will become part of this for the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games. India will be glad to see Sneh Rana who makes her return to the team as she was ruled out of the Sri Lanka tour due to injury.

Aggressive wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh hasn't been included in the 15-member squad. She has been replaced by Taniya Bhatia who has an ordinary-looking T2OI career. However, Yastika Bhatia seems to be getting more chances in the wicket-keeping department.

S.Meghana who impressed a lot with her recent form makes the Indian top order, even more, stronger with the likes of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma alongside. Although it will be interesting to see whether Meghana and Shafali will get a place together in the playing XI. Jemimah Rodrigues also makes a return to the team. She missed out on the Women's World Cup earlier this year but made a comeback on the Sri Lanka tour and was impressed a lot.

Apart from the 15-member squad, Richa Ghosh, Simran Bahadur and Poonam Yadav are the three stand-by players for the tournament. Few big teams including world champion Australia, the hosts England, New Zealand, South Africa, and Pakistan are also participating in the Commonwealth Games this year. 

India has been put in group A alongside Australia, Pakistan, and Barbados and they will kick off their campaign on July 29 against Australia. Women in blue will then face Pakistan on July 31 followed by the match on 3 August against Barbados. 

India's squad for Commonwealth Games 2022 :

Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, S.Meghana, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana 

Stand-bys:  Richa Ghosh, Simran Bahadur, Poonam Yadav