Left-arm spinner Saika Ishque, who impressed one and all during inaugural edition of Women's Premier League, received her maiden call-up for India as she was named in the three-match WT20I series against England starting December 6 in Mumbai.
The T20 squad comprised mostly of those who were part of the Asian Games gold-winning squad in Hangzhou, which is a nice blend of seniors and juniors.
At one end there are seasoned campaigners like skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma and Puja Vastrakar, on the other, the selectors have also included rookies like spinner Mannat Kashyap, batters Kanika Ahuja, Shreyanka Patil, talented pacer Titas Sadhu to name a few.
The Test team doesn't have too many surprises as Sadhu, an heir apparent to Jhulan Goswami, has been included along with Karnataka left-hander Shubha Satheesh, who was rewarded for her gritty batting in National One Dayers.
India’s squad for 3 T20Is against England: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Kanika Ahuja, Minnu Mani.
India’s squad for Tests against England & Australia: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar.