U19 Stars Receive Maiden Call-Up for India's First Assignment After Women's World Cup Win

Two talented young women cricketers have received their first senior team call-up when the Indian women's side for the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka was revealed on Tuesday. The first game of the Sri Lanka women tour of India 2025 will be played in Visakhapatnam on December 21. The second game will be played there two days later. The last three games will be played in Thiruvananthapuram, with the final game scheduled for December 30.

After the IND W vs SL W series, WPL 2026 will begin on January 9 in Navi Mumbai. This bilateral series' scheduling was revealed shortly after the white-ball series between Bangladesh and India, which was supposed to be in India this month in December, was postponed last month.

U19 Stars Selected in India Women Squad for Sri Lanka Series

The 15-person squad includes G. Kamalini and Vaishnavi Sharma, who both played for India in the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup. At the U19 Women's T20 World Cup in Malaysia earlier this year, both were important players for India. On her debut, Vaishnavi took five wickets and earned a hat-trick against Malaysia.

Vaishnavi Sharma went unsold in the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction. In contrast, Kamalini was signed by the Mumbai Indians Women for INR 1.6 crore for the 2025 WPL and kept by the two-time winners. Additionally, she was the youngest player to make her WPL debut the previous season.

G Kamalini, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper who won the U19 World Cup last year, replaced Chetry following a successful Senior Women's T20 Trophy in which she scored 297 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 110 while averaging 50. It is an excellent opportunity for both these players as they will share the dressing room with some of the best women cricketers in the world.

In addition to Harmanpreet Kaur leading the team, Smriti Mandhana will serve as her deputy. The roster also includes attacking opener Shafali Verma, who took Pratika Rawal's position in the World Cup squad prior to the quarterfinal match against Australia as Rawal was injured.

Smriti Mandhana Joins the Team After Setback

India vice captain Smriti Mandhana returns to national duty after being named in a 15-member squad for the home T20I series against Sri Lanka. Having called off her wedding with music composer Palash Muchhal, she recently went through a difficult period. Mandhana, one of the most famous female cricketers of India, will now play in the forthcoming five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka at home, which begins on December 21 and runs through this month 30.

Following their historic victory in the Women's World Cup 2025, this would be the Indian women's team's first international match. India's preparations for the Women's T20 World Cup, which will take place in England next year, begin with the series against Sri Lanka.

India Women Squad for Sri Lanka Series

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Goud, Renuka Singh Thakur, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), N Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma.