India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur is not playing in the 1st ODI against New Zealand Women. In her absence, vice-captain and opener Smriti Mandhana is leading the team in the match.
The India Women vs New Zealand Women 1st ODI is happening at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. During New Zealand Women’s tour of India in 2024, the two teams will play three ODIs. This tour only includes the ODI series.
Harmanpreet Kaur has been left out of the 1st ODI due to a minor injury. BCCI Women announced this on X (formerly Twitter). Here’s the tweet:
With Kaur’s absence, Yastika Bhatia and Dayalan Hemlatha have been moved to the top order. Mandhana revealed the full squad at the toss. Here’s the complete playing 11 for the India Women’s team in the 1st ODI against New Zealand:
India Women playing 11 for 1st ODI: Smriti Mandhana (c), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (w), Dayalan Hemlatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Tejal Hasabnis, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Saima Thakor, Renuka Thakur Singh.
Harmanpreet Kaur recently faced criticism for India Women’s disappointing performance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Under her captaincy, India didn’t make it to the semi-finals.
India Women were in Group A with Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Since the tournament was held in the spin-friendly UAE, where India’s spinners were expected to do well, they were seen as favorites.
However, India lost to New Zealand in their first match and to Australia in their final match, which knocked them out. Both Australia and New Zealand made it to the semi-finals, while India lost a close match to Australia in a must-win game.
