Women's Cricket
India vs Zimbabwe: Mandhana set for first series as India captain - Preview
India to compete in a six-match series against Zimbabwe, with Smriti Mandhana taking charge after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down as captain.
Smriti Mandhana. (Photo credit: ICC)
The Indian women's cricket team returns to international action for the first time on October 16, after their title-winning run at the 2026 Asian Games.
India will face Zimbabwe in a six-match series, which will be the first bilateral series between the two sides and their first meeting in T20Is.
The series will begin with 3 T20Is in Raipur, which is set to host its first international women's cricket match, before moving to Vadodara for the ODIs.
It will also mark a new chapter for India, with Smriti Mandhana set to lead the team for the first time after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down as captain on October 6.
Harmanpreet's decision brought an end to her nearly decade-long stint as India's T20I captain. During her time as captain, India won the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup and gold medals at the 2022 and 2026 Asian Games.
She also led India to Asia Cup titles in 2012 (stand-in captain), 2016, 2022 and 2026.
Smriti Mandhana's first assignment
Mandhana brings years of leadership experience to the role. She served as India's vice-captain for almost 10 years and led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to Women's Premier League titles in 2024 and 2026.
Although Zimbabwe may not offer a big challenge to the strong Indian team, it gives a good chance to Smriti to implement her leadership skills and test the bench strength of the team ahead of the ICC Women's Champions Trophy 2027.
India have made a number of changes to their squads for the Zimbabwe series compared with the team that won gold at the Asian Games.
In the T20I squad, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Singh and Radha Yadav are missing. Minnu Mani and Anushka Sharma have been included alongside Niki Prasad and Jintimani Kalita.
The ODI squad also features several changes from the team that toured Australia in February and March 2026. G Kamalini, Jemimah Rodrigues, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana and Kashvee Gautam were part of that squad but are not included for the Zimbabwe series.
Jemimah Rodrigues will miss another series as she continues to recover from a high-grade right hamstring tear.
Mandhana will captain both sides. Shafali Verma has been named vice-captain for the T20Is, while Deepti Sharma will serve as vice-captain in the ODIs.
India's T20I squad: Smriti Mandhana (C), Shafali Verma (VC), Niki Prasad, Harmanpreet Kaur, Anushka Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), G Kamalini (WK), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Sree Charani, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Jintimani Kalita and Minnu Mani.
India's ODI squad: Smriti Mandhana (C), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol, Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma (VC), Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Vaishnavi Sharma, Nandni Sharma, Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare and Renuka Thakur.
Schedule
The three T20Is will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur, while the ODI series will take place at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara.
1st T20I: October 16, Raipur
2nd T20I: October 18, Raipur
3rd T20I: October 20, Raipur
1st ODI: October 23, Vadodara
2nd ODI: October 25, Vadodara
3rd ODI: October 28, Vadodara
Where to watch
The series will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network on TV, with OTT streaming available on the JioHotstar app.