Indian players who missed out as women's cricket makes CWG debut

Two days ahead of the Indian women's cricket team's debut at the Commonwealth Games, left-arm spinner Radha Yadav said something interesting during a press interaction in Birmingham. She said that she has always felt left out when watching the CWG and the Olympics, and that is now about to change.

However, even though Radha Yadav and the rest of India's 15-member squad are waiting for the national anthem to play ahead of their big match against Australia, some big names in Indian cricket have still been left to watch the matches from home.

Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol and Radha Yadav have all been included in the side after they missed out on a spot in the ICC Women's ODI World Cup earlier this year. But what has sparked some questions is that the team's bowling attack lacks experience.

Shikha Pandey left in lurch again

One of the most surprising exclusions is that of pacer Shikha Pandey. The current team comprises a young but a powerful bowling attack with Rajeswari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh, Meghna Singh and the three talented all-rounders. But Pandey continues to be left in the lurch. To date, she has played 56 T20Is and has got 40 wickets to her name with a 'Ball of the century' that she bowled in her T20I outing in Australia in October 2021.

With the experience of veteran Jhulan Goswami being missed, fans were hopeful to see Pandey leading the bowling attack.

The two other experienced names that missed out on a place are Punam Raut and Poonam Yadav. While Poonam Yadav has been named as a reserve, Punam Raut has once again been denied a spot. Raut has been a consistent performer with the bat for the women in blue. Her exclusion came as a surprise during the 2022 World Cup as well, when she expressed her disappointment with a heartfelt message.

World Cup hero Richa Ghosh sidelined by Taniya Bhatia

Young gun Richa Ghosh, who has also been included as a reserve player, missed out on a position in the main squad to Taniya Bhatia and Yastika Bhatia, the two wicketkeepers in the team. Though Ghosh hasn't been in best of forms in recent times, her overall performance in T20Is - 191 runs in 14 matches along with 7 catches and 4 stumpings - show she could have been a better fit than Taniya Bhatia, who last played a T20I back in March 2020.

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, S. Meghana, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana.

India's Group Stage Schedule

vs Australia Friday, July 29 3:30 PM (IST)

vs Pakistan Sunday, July 31 3:30 PM (IST)

vs Barbados Wednesday, August 3 10:30 PM (IST)