Mandhana to lead India women in ODIs vs Ireland

Smriti Mandhana will lead the Indian women's team for the three-match ODI series against Ireland, starting 10 January in Rajkot.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 6 JANUARY

The announcement came after regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur and fast bowler Renuka Singh were rested to manage their workload.

Deepti Sharma has been named Mandhana's deputy for the series.

The uncapped pair of Raghvi Bist and Sayali Satghare have been called up for the three 50-over games, while the likes of Arundhati Reddy, Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav continue to miss out.

Bist recently made her T20I debut in the series against West Indies in Navi Mumbai last month, where she played two games and made scores of 5 and 31. Satghare, meanwhile, received her India call-up for the ODIs against New Zealand last October, but did not get a game.

The rest of the squad wears a familiar look with Pratika Rawal and Tanuja Kanwar, who made their India debuts during the West Indies ODIs in Vadodara, retaining their places in the squad.