India's 30-year-old pacer Renuka Singh Thakur has been ruled out of the one-off Test against Australia at Perth’s WACA ground starting on March 6. Renuka did not get injured but was advised rest to manage her workload.
“To better manage her workload, Renuka has been advised rest and will be unavailable for selection for the pink-ball Test. The BCCI Medical Team will be closely monitoring Renuka’s fitness progress,” the BCCI said in an official statement on March 3.
22-year-old Kashvee Gautam has been named Renuka's replacement. Kashvee played in the ODI series and is yet to make her Test debut.
Kashvee picked three wickets in the ODI series. She has been handy with the bat down the order. At Allan Border Field, Brisbane, she contributed with a 43-run knock.
India's updated Test squad vs Australia
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amanjot Kaur, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Vaishnavi Sharma , Sayali Satghare, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Kranti Gaud, Kashvee Gautam.
INDW vs AUSW Test head-to-head record
India Women are yet to win a Test on Australian soil. Their only Test win against Australia came in December 2023 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Australia have won four Tests against India whereas six have ended in a draw. The last time India played Australia in Perth was in January 1997. Hosts Australia beat India by 147 runs.
Australia’s updated Test squad vs India
Meanwhile, Australia will be without the services of their new all-format skipper Sophie Molineux who is out due to an injury. Maitlan Brown is set for her Test debut as injured Kim Garth’s replacement.
Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Rachel Trenaman, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.