Smriti Mandhana to lead as BCCI announces squads for Zimbabwe series

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced India’s squads for the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Zimbabwe, with Smriti Mandhana set to lead the women’s team as full-time captain for the first time.

Mandhana’s appointment as captain was announced by the BCCI earlier on Tuesday after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the leadership role across formats. Mandhana, who has previously led India in 18 T20Is and four ODIs, will now begin her full-time tenure with the Zimbabwe series.

Opener Shafali Verma has been named vice-captain for the three-match T20I series, while all-rounder Deepti Sharma will serve as Mandhana’s deputy in the ODI format. Harmanpreet remains part of both squads.

The T20I squad includes maiden call-ups for Niki Prasad and Jintimani Kalita, while Anushka Sharma, Minnu Mani and Prema Rawat have returned to the setup after missing out in the recent assignments.

India will play the three T20Is in Raipur on October 16, 18 and 20, followed by three ODIs in Vadodara on October 23, 25 and 28. IANS

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