BCCI announce Indian Women's Squad for ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named a 15-member group for the upcoming ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022, that will be held in New Zealand from March the 4th till the 3rd of April. 

Indian team's veteran batsman and leader Mithali Raj has been handed the captaincy for the tournament, with Harmanpreet Kaur named as her deputy.

According to a BCCI statement, the All India Women's Senior Selection Committee chose the squads for the New Zealand tour and the showcase event on Wednesday, the 5th of January.

Pace bowler Shikha Pandey as well as in-form all-rounder Jemimah Rodrigues are among some of the noteworthy absences from the squad announced on Thursday.

In addition to the World Cup, the Indian team will also play a 5-match One-Day International series in New Zealand in February against the hosts.

India's World Cup campaign will kick off on the March 6th at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui against arch - rival Pakistan. Prior to the competition's knockout stages, India is slated to play seven round-robin matches.

Notably, Mithali Raj guided India to the final of the preceding Women's World Cup, which took place in 2017. After defeating powerhouses Australia in the semi-finals, India went down to England in the final of the tournament.

Originally, the ICC Women's ODI World Cup was scheduled to take place in 2020, but was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 scare around the world.

Here's Indian Women's Team Squad for the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022

Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav.

Stand-by Players: S. Meghna, Ekta Bisht, Simran Dil Bahadur.