Latest news with #SmritiMandhana
India Gazette
5 hours ago
- Sport
- India Gazette
Smriti Mandhana expresses happiness over Shafali's comeback ahead of 1st England T20I
Nottingham [UK], June 27 (ANI): Ahead of her side's first T20I against England in Nottingham, Indian vice-captain and opener Smriti Mandhana hailed opener Shafali Verma for going back to the domestic grind after being dropped and earning herself a comeback to the national side. The Indian women's team will kickstart their white-ball series against England at Nottingham, starting with the first of five T20Is at Nottingham on Saturday. This match will mark Shafali's return to Team India, who last donned the national colours on October 29 last year and was dropped due to poor form. Since then, Shafali has done a lot of hard work in domestic and franchise cricket circuit. She played 50-over domestic over competitions, captaining Haryana to quarterfinal finish in the Senior Women's One Day Trophy, topping the run-charts with 527 runs at an average of 75 and strike rate of over 152. Then she featured in a crucial Senior Women's One Day Challengers Trophy, earlier in January this year, she dominated the charts, as the Team A skipper, scoring 414 runs at an average of 82.80, with a strike rate of over 145, with a century and two fifties. Nobody scored at a higher pace in the competition and scored close to 200 runs than the next best, D Vrinda (217 runs). Then, coming to the Women's Premier League (WPL), while Delhi Capitals (DC) made a heartbreaking hat-trick of runners-up finishes, Shafali's form was a massive positive as she was team's top run-getter and fourth-overall, with 304 runs in nine innings at an average of 38.00 and a strike rate of over 152, with a half-century. As the road to the home 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup (from September 30) and 2026 Women's T20 World Cup starts, this series is a massive chance for Shafali to send a reminder to the selectors of why she should be the primary choice. In her absence, Pratika Rawal featured in 11 ODIs, scoring 638 runs at an average of 63.80 with a century and five fifties, at a strike rate of almost 90. Speaking ahead of the match in the pre-match presser, Smriti said, 'She has had an amazing year. After her setback, she went back to domestic and scored a bucketful of runs. She had a great WPL as well. No one had any doubts about her talent. The way she had come into the Indian team and dominated, she is a world-class player and always will be. For her to go back and do what she did was amazing to see. She deserves this comeback, and I am excited to open with her again.' India's T20I Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav India's ODI Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav. (ANI)
Mint
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Mint
Smriti Mandhana expresses happiness over Shafalis comeback ahead of 1st England T20I
Nottingham [UK], June 27 (ANI): Ahead of her side's first T20I against England in Nottingham, Indian vice-captain and opener Smriti Mandhana hailed opener Shafali Verma for going back to the domestic grind after being dropped and earning herself a comeback to the national side. The Indian women's team will kickstart their white-ball series against England at Nottingham, starting with the first of five T20Is at Nottingham on Saturday. This match will mark Shafali's return to Team India, who last donned the national colours on October 29 last year and was dropped due to poor form. Since then, Shafali has done a lot of hard work in domestic and franchise cricket circuit. She played 50-over domestic over competitions, captaining Haryana to quarterfinal finish in the Senior Women's One Day Trophy, topping the run-charts with 527 runs at an average of 75 and strike rate of over 152. Then she featured in a crucial Senior Women's One Day Challengers Trophy, earlier in January this year, she dominated the charts, as the Team A skipper, scoring 414 runs at an average of 82.80, with a strike rate of over 145, with a century and two fifties. Nobody scored at a higher pace in the competition and scored close to 200 runs than the next best, D Vrinda (217 runs). Then, coming to the Women's Premier League (WPL), while Delhi Capitals (DC) made a heartbreaking hat-trick of runners-up finishes, Shafali's form was a massive positive as she was team's top run-getter and fourth-overall, with 304 runs in nine innings at an average of 38.00 and a strike rate of over 152, with a half-century. As the road to the home 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup (from September 30) and 2026 Women's T20 World Cup starts, this series is a massive chance for Shafali to send a reminder to the selectors of why she should be the primary choice. In her absence, Pratika Rawal featured in 11 ODIs, scoring 638 runs at an average of 63.80 with a century and five fifties, at a strike rate of almost 90. Speaking ahead of the match in the pre-match presser, Smriti said, "She has had an amazing year. After her setback, she went back to domestic and scored a bucketful of runs. She had a great WPL as well. No one had any doubts about her talent. The way she had come into the Indian team and dominated, she is a world-class player and always will be. For her to go back and do what she did was amazing to see. She deserves this comeback, and I am excited to open with her again." India's T20I Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav India's ODI Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav. (ANI)
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘Really excited to open with her again': Smriti Mandhana on Shafali Verma ahead of England series
India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana on Friday said that she was looking forward to opening the innings with Shafali Verma again with the latter making a comeback to the side for the England T20Is after having been out of reckoning in recent months. 'She's had an amazing year. Once the setback had come, she went to domestic (cricket), scored bucket loads of runs, had an amazing WPL and of course no one had any doubt about her talent, the way she had come into the Indian team and dominated,' Mandhana said in the pre-match press conference. 'She is a world-class player and always will be, but for her to go back and do what she did in the last one year was amazing to watch. She deserves this comeback and I'm really excited to open with her again,' she added. 🗣️🗣️ Shafali Verma is a word class player and deserves this comeback #TeamIndia vice-captain Smriti Mandhana ahead of the #ENGvIND T20I series opener tomorrow 👌👌@mandhana_smriti | @TheShafaliVerma — BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 27, 2025 Shafali was dropped last November after an inconsistent run in India colours, but has since been in stellar form in domestic cricket and had another solid season with the Delhi Capitals in the Women's Premier League. 'It's not easy to get over (being overlooked for selection). I didn't want to reveal because my father had a heart attack about two days before I got dropped from the team. I hid the news from him till he got better. He was in the hospital. I told him a week later,' Shafali had told The Indian Express in an interview. Mandhana, meanwhile, said she was only 'filling in' for Harmanpreet Kaur, who was not well enough to attend the pre-series press conference and expressed confidence that the regular captain will be available for the series opener. 'I don't think she's not playing; she's just unwell today. I am here just filling up (for Harmanpreet) today,' Mandhana said. Mandhana said coming to England with ample amount of time has helped them prepare better. 'We came in earlier here, a good eight days of prep, a few good practice matches (in which) we got to know a lot of things about England's conditions,' she said. '… Especially a lot of girls, it's their first England tour, so it was important for them to come here early and get used to the conditions. The preparation has been good leading up to the series.' (With agency inputs)
India Gazette
13 hours ago
- Sport
- India Gazette
India eye first-ever T20I series win against England Women
London [UK], June 27 (ANI): India will look to register their maiden bilateral T20I series win against England as both teams will lock horns with each other in a five-match series from Saturday, June 28. Trent Bridge will host the opener of the ENG-W vs IND-W T20 2025 series. The subsequent matches will be held at Bristol, The Oval, Old Trafford and Edgbaston, as per the All matches in the England vs India 2025 women's T20 cricket series will be available to watch on live streaming and telecast in India. This will be India women's first T20 outing of the year. They currently sit third in the ICC women's T20I rankings, just behind England. England dominate the head-to-head records with 22 wins from 30 matches, while India have managed eight victories. The last time the two teams met in a T20 series, England edged India 2-1 at the Wankhede Stadium in 2023. India have never won a bilateral T20 series against England, though their first-ever T20 victory came against the same opponents in 2006 in a one-off match. Harmanpreet Kaur will continue to captain the Indian cricket team with experienced campaigners Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Thakur and Deepti Sharma also in the squad. Shafali Verma returns to the squad after a successful Women's Premier League (WPL) season, where she amassed 304 runs at a strike rate of 152.76. The series will also mark maiden T20I call-ups for Kranti Gaud, Nallapureddy Charani, Shuchi Upadhyay and all-rounder Sayali Satghare. England, led by Nat Sciver-Brunt, come into the series high on confidence after a 3-0 sweep over the West Indies. Star spinner Sophie Ecclestone returns to bolster their attack. The series will also serve as a crucial build-up for India's T20 World Cup preparations, with England set to host the event next year. England vs India women's T20 2025 schedule: June 28, Saturday: ENG-W vs IND-W 1st T20 - 7:00 PM. July 1, Tuesday: ENG-W vs IND-W 2nd T20 - 11:00 PM. July 4, Friday: ENG-W vs IND-W 3rd T20 - 11:05 PM. July 9, Wednesday: ENG-W vs IND-W 4th T20 - 11:00 PM. July 12, Saturday: ENG-W vs IND-W 5th T20 - 11:05 PM. Squads: Indian Women: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Shuchi Upadhyay, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare England Women: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont (wk), Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Amy Jones (wk), Paige Scholfield, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Issy Wong. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Eng v Ind: Eyes on T20 World Cup 2026 prep
New Delhi: With the ICC Women's T20 World Cup less than a year away and set to be hosted in England, the five-match T20I series between England and India that begins on June 28 at Trent Bridge, arrives at a pivotal moment for both teams. The series offers a vital chance to test combinations, adapt to conditions and build momentum heading into a high-stakes year. Smriti Mandhana (right) and Harleen Deol . (@BCCIWomen) For India, it marks the beginning of their 2025 T20I calendar. The team hasn't played a T20I since their home win over West Indies in December and 2024 overall proved a rollercoaster. Despite bilateral success, it was marked by a heartbreaking Asia Cup final loss and an early exit from the T20 World Cup. However, many players levelled up during the Women's Premier League (WPL) and that recent form could prove crucial. Among the most anticipated returns is that of Shafali Verma who's likely to reclaim her spot at the top of the order after a strong domestic run and impressive WPL campaign for Delhi Capitals, having scored 304 runs in 9 matches. With the ODI World Cup also looming in September, this series could be a springboard for her selection into both formats despite the competition that exists in the 50-over format. India's squad will also see new faces in left-arm spinner N Shree Charani and seam all-rounder Kranti Goud. Pacer Sayali Satghare, seam all-rounder Amanjot Kaura have also been recalled. Offspinner Sneh Rana also earned a recall thanks to her consistent WPL performances. She also impressed with 1/47 and 2/28 in the warm-up matches against ECB Women XI at Beckenham. However, the absence of seasoned pacers Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar leaves the pace unit thin on experience. The responsibility now shifts to Satghare and Amanjot, supported by Arundhati Reddy, to anchor India's seam attack. On the batting front, the top five remains settled and formidable. Smriti Mandhana, Shafali, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh provide a great balance of both stability and firepower. They will, however, be hoping for their all-rounders to step up with the bat as well. It will also be interesting to see whether the returning Harleen Deol and Yastika Bhatia also slot right back in. England, meanwhile, are already deep in preparation mode for the home World Cup. Under the new leadership duo of Nat Sciver-Brunt and coach Charlotte Edwards, they made a dominant statement earlier this month by sweeping both white-ball series against the West Indies 3-0. But Edwards has her sights firmly set on India, acknowledging that there lies a tougher challenge ahead. 'We absolutely know that, in a couple of weeks' time at Trent Bridge, that's going to be tough. They're one of the best teams in the world, they've got some of the best players, so we're going to have to be right on it when we get to the 28th of June. But we've taken a lot of confidence from this and that's the most important thing. We can only play what's in front of us and we'll look to do that again when we play against India,' she had said after the West Indies series win. The hosts welcome back world No. 1 T20I bowler Sophie Ecclestone, who rejoins the squad after a short break and missing the West Indies series. However, they'll be without former captain Heather Knight who is ruled out with a hamstring injury sustained during the West Indies series. She was England's leading run-scorer with 109 runs in 2 innings. Lauren Bell, meanwhile, was the leading wicket-taker with 7 wickets in 3 innings.
