Struggling Shafali Verma dropped from Indian women's team for ODI series in Australia next month

NEW DELHI: Top-order batter Shafali Verma was on Tuesday dropped from India's 16-member women's team for the three-match ODI series in Australia in December after a string of poor performances in the past year.

The BCCI selectors seem to have once again lost patience with the 20-year-old right-handed batter, whose recent ODI form has been disappointing. Shafali has scored just 108 runs in six matches this year with 33 being the highest.

She was dropped in December last year from the team midway during the home ODI series against Australia on the basis of her poor run, before making a comeback against South Africa in June this year in Bengaluru.

In fact, the youngster, rated as the next big thing in Indian women's cricket when she broke into the team in 2021, has not scored a ODI half century since making an unbeaten 71 against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in July 2022. Her next highest score was a 49 against the same opponent in the same series.

Four other players -- Uma Chetry, Dayalan Hemalatha, Shreyanka Patil and Sayali Satghare -- were also left out from the squad that played in India's 2-1 home series win against New Zealand in Ahmedabad last month.

Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh, Minnu Mani, Titas Sadhu and Priya Punia are the five players who did not face New Zealand but were named in the team for the Australia series.

The first two ODIs will be played at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane on December 5 and 8 before the action shifts to WACA Ground, Perth on December 11 for the final match of the series, which is a part of the ICC Women’s Championship.

India’s squad for three-match ODI series: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Priya Punia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Yastika Bhatia (WK), Richa Ghosh (WK), Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Radha Yadav, Titas Sadhu, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Saima Thakor.