Team India announce squad for 2025 Women's ODI World Cup; star opener misses out 

The Indian women's team selection committee have named the squad for the upcoming Women's World Cup, which will be contested on home soil. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side are eyeing their first-ever title after featuring in the finals twice, in 2005 and 2017.

Prior to the World Cup, the Women in Blue will be featuring in a three-match home series against Australia, which will be followed by a couple of warm-up matches against England and New Zealand.

Chief selector Neetu David formally announced the squad during a press conference in Mumbai, in the presence of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

The squad includes the core group of vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, and Renuka Singh Thakur. A major exclusion comes in the form of Shafali Verma, who was part of India's previous ODI World Cup campaign in 2022.

The opening batter was dropped from the ODI squad ahead of the tour of Australia in late 2024. She recently featured for India 'A' against Australia 'A' away from home, recording a fifty in the final match. However, it was not enough to displace the well-settled ODI opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal.

Coming on the back of a 2-1 series triumph in England, the team have included newcomers like Kranti Goud and Sree Charani. The former was the elading wicket-taker of the entire series, while the latter has also made a strong start to her international career.

Amanjot Kaur has not been included for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, but is a member of the World Cup squad. She has had her injury struggles in the recent past, and coupled with Pooja Vastrakar's absence due to a long-term injury, no risk is being taken ahead of the World Cup.

The rest of the seam bowling resources comprise primarily of Arundhati Reddy and Renuka Singh Thakur. The latter has not played any cricket since the 2025 Women's Premier League (WPL) campaign due to an injury.

Other notable inclusions include Shreyanka Patil and Titas Sadhu who are currently recovering from long-term injuries. The spin-bowling all-rounder was ruled out of WPL 2025 due to an injury, before being included in the India 'A' squad for the Australia tour. However, her selection was subjected to fitnes cleearance, and she eventually missed out.

Team India squad for ODI series against Australia

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh (WK), Kranti Goud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (WK), Sneh Rana

Team India squad for 2025 Women's ODI World Cup

Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Yastika Bhatia, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani

Team India to kickstart their World Cup campaign with a clash against Sri Lanka

As the hosts of the tournament, India will set the tournament off with a match against their subcontinent rivals, Sri Lanka, on September 30.

The tournament features eight teams in total in a league plus knockout format. The top four sides in the group stage will qualify for the semi-finals. The final is scheduled to be held on November 2.