All-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur has been named as the captain of team India women’s team ODI captain for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour after legendary cricketer Mithali Raj announced her retirement from international cricket on Wednesday.
BCCI Named Harmanpreet Kaur As Team India’s New ODI Skipper
Following Raj’s announcement, the BCCI announced India’s squad for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka where Harmanpreet was promoted as the skipper in the 50-over format. Kaur was already the caption for the T20I Indian team. The news was confirmed by the BCCI via an official statement:
“The All-India Women’s Selection Committee met on Wednesday to pick the squads for India’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. India will play three T20Is beginning June 23rd and as many ODIs in Dambulla and Kandy respectively.”
Mithali Raj announced her retirement
Meanwhile, Raj announced her retirement from all formats of the game on Wednesday and she announced the same through a heart-touching post on Twitter.
Raj had made her international debut in June 1999, in an ODI match against Ireland and since then there have been no turning backs for the cricketer. Her decision to hang her boots from international cricket will bring down the curtain on a glittering career ever since she made her debut. During her glorious career of more than two decades, Raj has played 12 Tests, 232 ODIS, and 89 T20Is for India in her 23-year-old career.
Harmanpreet Wrote A Beautiful Tweet For Raj
Following her announcement, social media has been buzzing with amazing reactions from fans and cricketers alike. Harmanpreet Kaur also joined the bandwagon and wrote a heartfelt tweet for her ‘Mithali Di’. In her tweet, Kaur hailed Raj for inspiring young girls to take this sport. She wrote:
“Cricket is a dream and when I started off my career I had no idea that women’s cricket existed but the only name ever told or heard was yours @M_Raj03 Di. You sewed the seed for all the young girls to take up this sport and dream big. Wish you the best in life.”
Check out the Tweet:
Cricket is a dream and when I started off my career I had no idea that women’s cricket existed but the only name ever told or heard was yours @M_Raj03 Di. You sewed the seed for all the young girls to take up this sport and dream big. Wish you the best in life. pic.twitter.com/pWZ9UHcKN3
— Harmanpreet Kaur (@ImHarmanpreet) June 8, 2022
Meanwhile, Harmanpreet-led team India will lock horns in 3 T20Is and as many ODIs. The series will kick off with the opening T20I to be played on June 23.
Check out India’s squad for the upcoming series against SL:
ODI squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghna, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol
T20I Squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghna, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav
