Harmanpreet Kaur named India's ODI captain for Sri Lanka after Mithali Raj's retirement, no place for Jhulan Goswami
Harmanpreet Kaur, who had earlier replaced Mithali as the captain of the Indian T20I side, has been named skipper for the upcoming ODI series in Sri Lanka.
Batter Harmanpreet Kaur has been named captain of the Indian women's team for the upcoming ODI series in Sri Lanka, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Wednesday. Harmanpreet's appointment follows erstwhile captain Mithali Raj announcing her retirement from international cricket, thus bringing to an end an illustrious 23-year career.
The tour will consist of a three-match T20I series that will be played from June 23 to 27 in Dambula. This will be followed a three-match ODI series that is scheduled for July 1 to July 7 in Kandy.
Harmanpreet had earlier replaced Mithali as India's T20I captain after the latter had retired from the format in September 2019. While the BCCI named her as captain for the Sri Lanka tour, it did not specify if she will be taking up the role permanently and if this will extend to the Indian Test squad as well.
Meanwhile, veteran fast bowler Jhulan Goswami has been left out of the ODI squad.
Harmanpreet had earlier paid tribute to her former captain on Twitter. “Cricket is a dream and when I started off my career I had no idea that women’s cricket existed but the only name ever told or heard was yours @M_Raj03 Di. You sewed the seed for all the young girls to take up this sport and dream big. Wish you the best in life,” said the 33-year-old.
Mithali retired on Wednesday not only as the most-capped India women's cricketer of all time, but also as the leading run-scorer in women's international cricket having amassed 10,868 runs from 333 appearances for India.
"Thank you for all your love & support over the years! I look forward to my 2nd innings with your blessing and support," she tweeted. "I feel now is the perfect time to call curtains on my playing career as the team is in the capable hands of some very talented young players and the future of Indian Cricket is bright," she said in her statement.
India’s T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghna, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav.
India’s ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghna, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol.