Uncapped India star earns maiden T20I call-up against Proteas
India announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I series away against South Africa.
Uncapped batter Anushka Sharma has earned a maiden call-up in the squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa in the lead-up to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Sharma had a memorable maiden Women’s Premier League (WPL) stint earlier this year, where she scored 177 runs in seven games at an average of 25.28 while striking at 129.19.
Fast bowler Kashvee Gautam, who is capped in ODIs and Tests, is also in line for a T20I debut after being included in the squad to face the Proteas.
Anushka Sharma in action for Gujarat Giants in the Women's Premier League (WPL) // Getty Images
The squad announcement also marks the return of wicket-keeper Uma Chetry, who missed out on a place in the recent T20I series against Australia, which India won 2-1.
From the 16-member group that faced off against Australia, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sneh Rana, G Kamalini and Amanjot Kaur miss out on a place.
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani, Shreyanka Patil, Kashvee Gautam, Bharti Fulmali, Uma Chetry, Anushka Sharma.
India will look to carry forward the momentum built from their big series win against Australia and fine-tune their performances, building up to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, starting 12 June.