Gruny, Bhaskar return to USA squad after five-year absence

Batsmen Nadia Gruny and Shebani Bhaskar anchor a USA batting unit ready to resume international competition for the first time in more than five years after they were named in a 14-player squad for the ICC Europe T20 Qualifier this August. The squad was picked after the conclusion of a series of trials held in Indianapolis from June 9-11, organized by ICC Americas staff, as they continue to oversee USA's cricket operations while the USA Cricket Association is under suspension.

Gruny was USA's leading scorer at their last international competition in 2012 when they finished runner-up to Canada by virtue of the net-run-rate tiebreaker at that year's ICC Americas T20 Championship in the Cayman Islands. Gruny, 33, most recently captained a USA Women's XI last September in Philadelphia against a touring MCC Women's side featuring former England players Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor.

Bhaskar was also part of the USA Women's XI that played against the MCC in Philadelphia, though this will be her first time playing for USA since the 2011 Women's World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh. Only 17-years-old at the time, Bhaskar was USA's leading scorer at that event with 139 runs in six matches, including a top-score of 72 for USA's only victory, a one-run win over Zimbabwe in which Bhaskar's direct hit from cover resulted in the game-ending wicket.

The other big name to return for USA is former West Indies Test player Candacy Atkins. The 33-year-old starred for USA in the buildup to the 2011 Women's World Cup Qualifier but ultimately boycotted the team's participation, along with several of her team-mates, for what they claimed was discriminatory treatment from the USA Cricket Association by way of tour stipends that were far less than those provided to men's touring squads. However, Atkins came back to captain USA less than six months later at the 2012 ICC Americas Women's tournament.

One other player with international pedigree, but still relatively new to the squad is former India A and India U-21 batsman Sindhu Sriharsha. The opener played for a USA team captained by Gruny against Pakistan in a two-match bilateral series in November 2015 held in Florida.

Of the five players yet to play a full-fledged international for USA, three of them - Sindhuja Salguti, Sugetha Chandhrasekar and Onika Wallerson - played as part of the USA XI that took on the MCC Women last year. Wallerson formerly represented Guyana in the West Indies domestic women's competition before migrating to the USA. The other two, Neha Anand and Uzma Iftikhar, have a chance to play for USA for the first time against any competition.

USA will face Netherlands and Scotland in the double-round robin Europe T20 Qualifier scheduled to be held in Scotland from August 14-19. The ICC announced last year that USA would be given a wildcard entry to the tournament since there is no Americas qualifier. The top two teams will advance to the global qualifier for a chance to go to the 2018 Women's World T20 in the West Indies.