Apart from Richa Ghosh, 15-year-old Haryana schoolgirl Shafali Verma will also be playing her first global meet following some good performances at the international level in her first season
Mumbai: Bengal's rookie batswoman Richa Ghosh was the only new face in a 15-member Harmanpreet Kaur-led India squad announced for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia, starting 21 February.
The team has no other surprises and 15-year-old Haryana schoolgirl Shafali Verma will also be playing her first global meet following some good performances at the international level in her first season.
Richa has been rewarded for her exploits in the recent women's Challenger Trophy, scoring 36 off 26 balls in one of the games with four boundaries and a six.
The selectors also announced a 16-member squad for a tri-series in Australia prior to the T20 World Cup, with Nuzhat Parveen being added as the 16th member. That tournament starts on 31 January and also features England.
World T20 Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodriguez, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Richa Ghosh, Tania Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy.
Tri-Series (16 member) squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodriguez, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Richa Ghosh, Tania Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Nuzhat Parveen.
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Indian women's cricket team will be without its two pillars -- Mithali Raj, who retired from cricket earlier this month, and Jhulan Goswami, who is nursing a side strain.
The India skipper overtook Raj, who recently announced her retirement from all forms of the game, during the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Dambulla.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side stuttered in the middle overs to manage just 138 for five to lose the final T20I against Sri Lanka by seven wickets.