India Women kick off their preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup in England with a lengthy white-ball tour, which will include a five-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series against the hosts.
Ahead of the opening WT20I between Indian and England, here are our match preview and predictions.
This is the first T20 action for the Women in Blue since the 2025 Women’s Premier League season, with veteran Kaur leading an experienced squad.
Smriti Mandhana will not only be deputy to Kaur but also one of the key batters for India in the English conditions. The explosive Shafali Verma will be partnering Mandhana at the top, with Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, and Richa Ghosh making up the Indian batting core.
Among the all-rounders, Sneh Rana returns to the squad for the first time since February 2023 and will be key alongside Deepti Sharma. With no Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar (both ruled out due to injuries), the veteran all-rounders will need to step up. The seam attack will be a little low on experience, with Arundhati Reddy set to be one to watch out for.
The hosts, meanwhile, also have an all-rounder returning in the form of Sophie Ecclestone, with Nat Sciver-Brunt leading the squad alongside a couple of new faces. Issy Wong, Paige Scholfield, and Emily Arlott don’t have a ton of T20I experience, and England will be looking to see who is fit to represent them at the home World Cup next year.
England have plenty of experience in the batting line-up, including Sciver-Brunt, Tammy Beaumont, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley, and Alice Capsey. Lauren Bell will be leading their bowling attack.
Trent Bridge usually brings about runs for the batters while having something for the slower bowlers and spinners. For the first game, we hand England a slight advantage over India given their squad experience.
Fantasy XI: Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Richa Ghosh, Charlie Dean, Deepti Sharma, Lauren Bell, Arundhati Reddy, Issy Wong
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Winners Prediction: England
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