Mandhana's First Test: Can India's New-Look Squads Deliver?

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-07

### A New Era Begins for India Women Smriti Mandhana just took on her first full-time captaincy role, and she's wasting no time making her mark. The BCCI announced India's women's squads for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe, and there are some fascinating new faces in the mix. Niki Prasad and Jintimani Kalita are the fresh names in the T20I squad, while Nandani Sharma has earned her first ODI call-up. Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Kaur—who stepped down as captain across all formats on the same day—remains in both 15-member squads. That's a lot of change happening at once, and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out. ### The Series at a Glance The tour kicks off with three T20Is in Raipur: - **October 16** – First T20I - **October 18** – Second T20I - **October 20** – Third T20I Then the action shifts to Vadodara for three ODIs: - **October 23** – First ODI - **October 25** – Second ODI - **October 28** – Final ODI ### T20I Squad: New Blood and Big Opportunities Niki Prasad is the name everyone's talking about. She captained India to the Under-19 World Cup title in Malaysia in 2025 and now stands on the verge of her senior debut. Her recent performances for India A against Australia A were nothing short of impressive—an unbeaten 54 in the second T20, a 76 off 71 balls in the third one-day game, plus four wickets. And in the four-day match, she scored 91 in the first innings and took seven wickets for 77 runs across the game, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings. Jintimani Kalita's inclusion, on the other hand, came as a bit of a surprise. She didn't pick up many wickets on the A tour of England in June-July, and her games against Australia A at home brought similar returns. But the selectors clearly see something in her. Four players from the Asian Games gold medal-winning T20I squad have dropped out: Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Singh, and Radha Yadav. Minnu Mani and Anushka Sharma come in alongside Prasad and Kalita as replacements. Shafali Verma has been appointed vice-captain for the T20Is. **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: More Changes, New Responsibilities The ODI squad shows even more changes than the T20I side. When India last played the format on their tour of Australia in February-March this year, G Kamalini, Jemimah Rodrigues, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, and Kashvee Gautam were all in the line-up. None of them feature in this group. Rodrigues has been out of action since she suffered a high-grade right hamstring tear while playing for Southern Brave in the women's Hundred earlier this year. The injury also kept her out of India's Asian Games campaign. Tejal Hasabnis, Yastika Bhatia, Vaishnavi Sharma, Nandani Sharma, and Sayali Satghare are the five new inclusions. Nandani already has T20I caps and was part of the side that won the Asian Games gold in Nisshin. She performed well at the women's T20 Asia Cup in Dubai in August-September, which India won, and again at the Asian Games. She has been among the most promising fast-bowling prospects in the country in recent times. Deepti Sharma will serve as vice-captain in the ODIs. **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 This series is more than just a few matches against Zimbabwe. It's a glimpse into the future of Indian women's cricket. With Mandhana at the helm and a mix of experienced players and fresh talent, the team is clearly in transition. The selectors are taking a calculated risk by bringing in so many new faces. But with the ODI World Cup on the horizon, these matches provide the perfect opportunity to test combinations and build depth. Will Niki Prasad live up to the hype? Can Nandani Sharma translate her domestic success to the international stage? And most importantly, can Smriti Mandhana's leadership steer India to a convincing series win? Only time will tell, but one thing's for sure—this series just got a whole lot more interesting. For more cricket news and updates, stay tuned.