India Women's Zimbabwe Squads: Niki Prasad's Rise and Mandhana's New Era

·
Listen to this article~3 min

The BCCI has named India's women's squads for the home series against Zimbabwe, with Smriti Mandhana leading for the first time as full-time captain. Niki Prasad and Jintimani Kalita are the new faces in T20Is, while Nandani Sharma earns her first ODI call-up.

### A New Chapter Begins The BCCI has named India's women's squads for the home series against Zimbabwe, and there's a lot to unpack. Smriti Mandhana takes charge as full-time captain for the first time, while Harmanpreet Kaur, who stepped down earlier the same day, remains in both 15-member squads. Niki Prasad and Jintimani Kalita earn their first T20I call-ups, and Nandani Sharma gets her maiden ODI nod. ### Series Schedule: T20Is in Raipur, ODIs in Vadodara The tour kicks off with three T20Is in Raipur on October 16, 18, and 20. Then it's off to Vadodara for three ODIs on October 23, 25, and 28. All matches promise plenty of action as India fine-tunes its lineup. ### T20I Squad: Fresh Faces and Familiar Ones Prasad, who led India to the Under-19 World Cup title in 2025, is on the cusp of her senior debut. She impressed in the recent A series against Australia A, scoring an unbeaten 54 in the second T20 and 76 off 71 balls in the third one-dayer, plus four wickets. In the four-day match, she made 91 and took seven wickets, including a five-for. Kalita's inclusion raised a few eyebrows, as she didn't pick up many wickets on the A tour of England or against Australia A. Four players from the Asian Games gold-winning T20I squad—Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Singh, and Radha Yadav—make way for Minnu Mani, Anushka Sharma, Prasad, and Kalita. Shafali Verma is vice-captain. **India Women T20I squad:** Smriti Mandhana (capt), Shafali Verma (vice-capt), Niki Prasad, Harmanpreet Kaur, Anushka Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, N Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Jintimani Kalita, Minnu Mani. ### ODI Squad: Nandani Sharma Gets Maiden Call-Up The ODI side sees more changes. G Kamalini, Jemimah Rodrigues, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, and Kashvee Gautam—all part of the last ODI series in Australia—are missing. Rodrigues is still recovering from a high-grade hamstring tear. Tejal Hasabnis, Yastika Bhatia, Vaishnavi Sharma, Nandani Sharma, and Sayali Satghare come in. Nandani, who has T20I caps and was part of the Asian Games gold-winning team, has been a standout fast-bowling prospect. Deepti Sharma will be vice-captain. **India Women ODI squad:** Smriti Mandhana (capt), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol, Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma (vice-capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Vaishnavi Sharma, Nandani Sharma, N Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Renuka Singh. ### What This Means for India's Future With Mandhana at the helm and fresh talent injected, this series is a golden opportunity to build depth. The selectors are clearly looking ahead, and these matches will show whether the new faces can step up. As Mandhana put it, "It's a new challenge, and I'm excited to lead this group." For fans, it's a chance to see the next generation in action. Stay tuned for more cricket updates.

📌 Worth Reading Next