In the month of June, all the eyes of cricketing fans will be on the West Indies and USA, as the ninth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup kicks off on the first of the month. From India's point of view, nothing less than the title will be expected of the Men in Blue.
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Looking past the tournament, however, up comes the Women's T20 World Cup in October. Set to be held in Bangladesh, it presents another opportunity for an Indian team to lift silverware this year. India have made at least the semifinals of the last three tournaments, and will want to take that last step towards a trophy this time around.
South Africa women's tour of India - Complete schedule, India squads for the series announced
Ahead of the tournament, India will take on South Africa in an all-format bilateral series starting in June. Travel is minimal for both sides during the series, as South Africa's warm-up match as well as the three ODIs will all take place in Bengaluru. The one-off Test and three T20Is are set to be played in Chennai.
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India have given a good account of themselves in red-ball cricket of late, defeating both England and Australia on home turf last December. In addition, they whitewashed Bangladesh 5-0 in a T20I series in Sylhet last month, putting up a commanding and promising showing.
However, South Africa are sure to provide a stern test. They beat Australia in Australia in an ODI earlier this year, and despite wobbling in their next series against Sri Lanka have shown more than enough evidence that they are not a team to be taken lightly.
India squad for bilateral series vs South Africa
ODIs: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues *, Richa Ghosh (WK), Uma Chetri (WK), Dayalan Hemlatha, Radha Yadav, Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar *, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Priya Punia.
Tests: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Shubha Satheesh, Jemimah Rodrigues *, Richa Ghosh (WK), Uma Chetri (WK), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar *, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghna Singh, Priya Punia.
T20Is: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Uma Chetri (WK), Richa Ghosh (WK), Jemimah Rodrigues *, Sajana Sajeevan, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Asha Sobhana, Pooja Vastrakar *, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy. Standby: Saika Ishaque
*Jemimah Rodrigues and Pooja Vastrakar's selection is based on whether they clear a fitness test after recent injury issues.
Complete schedule for South Africa women tour of India
| Date | Time | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 13, 2024 | 1:30 PM | Warm-up match | Bengaluru |
| June 16, 2024 | 1:30 PM | 1st ODI | Bengaluru |
| June 19, 2024 | 1:30 PM | 2nd ODI | Bengaluru |
| June 23, 2024 | 1:30 PM | 3rd ODI | Bengaluru |
| June 28, 2024 - July 1, 2024 | 9:30 AM | One-off Test | Chennai |
| July 5, 2024 | 7:00 PM | 1st T20I | Chennai |
| July 7, 2024 | 7:00 PM | 2nd T20I | Chennai |
| July 9, 2024 | 7:00 PM | 3rd T20I | Chennai |