Fulmali, Patil back in India T20I squad for Australia tour

Batter Bharti Fulmali has returned to the India T20I squad for the first time since 2019, along with offspinner Shreyanka Patil, for the tour of Australia in February. Seventeen-year-old wicketkeeper G Kamalini and left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma, both of whom were part of the T20I side that played Sri Lanka in December last year, have earned maiden ODI call-ups.

From the title-winning ODI World Cup squad, India have dropped back-up wicketkeeper Uma Chetry and left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, who had recently lost her place in the T20I side. Pacer Arundhati Reddy, does not feature in the ODI side but has been retained for T20Is.

Meanwhile, Kashvee Gautam - who last represented India in the tri-series involving Sri Lanka and South Africa in May last year, has been added to the ODI squad, while Harleen Deol, who is part of the ODI set-up, has been dropped from the T20I squad. There are no other surprises in the squads, which will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur.

Fulmali's international comeback follows her impressive performances in the ongoing WPL, where she scored 92 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 191.66 for Gujarat Giants. She also had a strong campaign last season, smashing 133 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 172.72 - a marked improvement from the inaugural WPL season in 2023, when she managed 64 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 120.75. Fulmali made her debut for India against England in Guwahati seven years ago and has played just two matches.

For Patil, this will be her first international outing since the T20 World Cup in October 2024, which was also against Australia. After spending nearly a year on the sidelines with injury, she returned to competitive cricket in the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) in September last year, when she was part of the title-winning Barbados Royals side. In this WPL, Patil has taken eight wickets in four matches, including a five-wicket haul against Giants.

India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs on the white-ball tour between February 15 and March 1, with the one-off Test scheduled to run from March 6 to 9 in Perth. The BCCI said in a statement that the Test squad will be announced later.

Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil

Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol