The ninth edition of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 will begin from 9th of July in Sri Lanka. The tournament will be played in the T20 format. A total of 8 teams will take part in this elite competition. The teams are divided into two groups.
In Group A, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are placed, and Group B comprises Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Thailand. The tournament will culminate on 28th of July.
In this regard, the defending champions, India have announced their squad. They have announced a tried and tested squad, and all of the players are currently playing a home T20 series against South Africa.
Nevertheless, they missed out Amanjot Kaur and Shabnam Shakil.
Shweta Sehrawat, Saika Ishaque, Tanuja Kanwar, and Meghna Singh are part of the travelling reserve as the team will fly to Sri Lanka to play the ninth edition of the Asia Cup.
India’s batting looks strong with Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana at top and the captain Harmanpreet Kaur to follow. Richa Gosh and Uma Chetry are the two wicket-keeping options and the likes of Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma provide the side stability and flexibility with their all-rounder skills.
Also, Smriti has been a hot form. She scored centuries against South Africa both in Test and ODI series and if anything, it will boost her confidence moving to the Asia Cup. Not to mention, she is currently playing a T20 series against South Africa so she would love to continue her glorious performances both against South Africa and in the Asia Cup.
Renuka Singh is a great new bowling option for India. Radha Yadav is another excellent option and guess what she can bat too.
India will take on Pakistan in their first game on 19th July and then will face Nepal and UAE in order to book their place in a knockout stage. Dambulla will host all 15 games including the semi-finals and finals.
India will kick start the competition as the defending champions as they beat Sri Lanka in the final. In the last edition of the Asia Cup, Pakistan defeated India in a low-scoring game. This time, besides defending the title, the Indian women will look forward for a revenge as well from their arch-rivals.
India is currently hosting South Africa and after beating the tourists in ODI series and one-off Test, both of the nations are playing three-match T20i series and India are trailing behind 0-1.
And the upcoming Asia Cup serves as a preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup in September and October in Bangladesh.
India Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, D Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajeevan Sajana
Travelling reserves:
Shweta Sehrawat, Saika Ishaque, Tanuja Kanwar, and Meghna Singh
