Shafali Verma Back In T20i Team For England Tour

Shafali Verma is back in the T20I team for the England tour. The explosive opener was excluded from the national team at the end of last year but has now made a comeback. Her good show in the Women's Premier League helped her return big time as she was the fourth highest run-scorer in the tournament.

Sayali Satghare, who had made her debut this year against Ireland, has also been brought back. She differs from Shafali as she will be in both the T20I and ODI teams. Kashvee Gautam was a part of the team during the tri-series recently played in Sri Lanka but has been replaced with Kranti Gaud. The other new one is Sayali.

The T20 team has undergone a lot of changes from the ODI team. Recent squad members Yastika Bhatia and Harleen Deol have made their comeback. Sneh Rana, who was the player of the tournament in the tri-series, has also earned a spot. Uma Chetry, who was left out to open for the last T20I against West Indies, has been left behind as selectors preferred to keep most of the ODI players for the T20I series too.

The tour will start on June 28 at Trent Bridge with the first T20I. The five-match T20I series will be followed by ODIs numbering three, and the tour will end on July 22.

The ODI team is captained by Harmanpreet Kaur and has Smriti Mandhana as vice-captain. Other prominent players are Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, and Sneh Rana. Harmanpreet and Smriti are also leaders in the T20I team, with Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues part of the batting group. The teams portray a blend of veterans and new faces, with selectors hoping to have a balanced team in both styles.