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Shikha Pandey was over the moon after her inclusion in the India's squad for the upcoming Women's World Cup 2023 which is slated to kick off from February 10 in South Africa. The 33-year-old didn't feature for the national side since October 2021 after being dropped for India's tour of Australia. She was then omitted from the Women’s ODI World Cup squad and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She is India’s second-leading wicket-taking pacer in Women's T20Is after Jhulan Goswami, with 40 wickets to her name.
Meanwhile, Shikha shared an emotional post on Twitter and told how a bedroom wallpost affirmation kept pushing her to not give up and after a year the day came when she received the dream India callup for the marquee event.
“I had put this small poster up on my bedroom wall in February as an affirmation.⚡️ My heart is filled with gratitude for everyone who stood by me this gone year and I am truly humbled by all your wishes.🙏🏾 Hard work continues.💪🏾 #Blessed,” Shikha Tweeted.
Other inclusions include Pooja Vastrakar, subject to fitness, while Left-arm seamer Anjali Sarvani, who made an impressive debut in the recently-concluded home series against Australia, is also set to feature in her first T20 World Cup. While the T20 World Cup kicks off on February 10, India, who were runners-up in the previous campaign, will kickstart their tournament on February 12 against rivals Pakistan in Cape Town. The Women in Blue have been added to Group 2 alongside England, West Indies, Pakistan, and Ireland. The top two teams of each group will face off in the semifinals. The final will be held on February 26 in Cape Town. Prior to the T20 World Cup, the Women in Blue will play a tri-series against South Africa and the West Indies, and the squad for that has also been revealed.
India’s squad for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-Captain), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk) Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey.
Schedule for T20 World Cup:
February 12: India vs Pakistan: Cape Town
February 15: India vs West Indies: Cape Town
February 18: India vs England: Gqeberha
February 20: India vs Ireland: Gqeberha
India’s squad for Tri-series
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice Captain), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Shushma Verma (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Sabbhineni Meghana, Sneh Rana, Shikha Pandey
