India begins a new T20 era under captain Smriti Mandhana with a three-match bilateral series against Zimbabwe starting Friday
The series serves as crucial preparation for India to address middle-over batting struggles, fielding lapses, and pace bowling concerns
Following the T20 matches, both teams will travel to Vadodara to contest a three-match ODI series
India will look to majorly refine their T20 game when the era of new captain Smriti Mandhana begins with a three-match series against a zealful Zimbabwe at Raipur on Friday.
It will be the first time India and Zimbabwe face each other in a bilateral series.
India recently reaffirmed their dominance at the Asian level but they remain very much a work in progress in international cricket, especially in the shortest format.
The back-to-back premature exits in the T20 World Cup have exposed chinks in their armour. India need improvement in all three departments of the game if they are to consistently challenge the likes of Australia.
India won a path-breaking ODI World Cup at home last year but lifting the inaugural Women's Champions Trophy at home early next year would be a tougher task.
On the batting front, the team is struggling to maintain momentum in the middle overs following the flying starts provided by Mandhana and Shafali Verma.
The number three spot has become a case of musical chairs and the form of Mandhana's predecessor, Harmanpreet Kaur, has been a concern for a while.
Now playing as a specialist batter in the side, Harmanpreet will be under more pressure to deliver. India also need to groom more power hitters to support Richa Ghosh in the lower-order.
The fielding has let the team down on a number of occasions and needs significant improvement. In the bowling department, the recent rise of Nandni Sharma has been a big positive but overall the pace attack needs more potency to strike regularly in all phases of the game.
Spin has been India's strength traditionally with the young Shree Charani standing out. Of late, veteran all-rounder Deepti Sharma has troubled the batters with her off-spin.
For regular breakthroughs in the middle overs, leg-break bowler Prema Rawat needs to be given an extended run to flourish.
The fresh faces in the squad include Niki Prasad and Jintimani Kalita.
The series presents an ideal opportunity for high on confidence Zimbabwe after beating the West Indies in an ODI last month.
The squad will be captained by Josephine Nkomo.
Both teams will travel to Vadodara for three ODIs following the T20s.
Squads
India: Smriti Mandhana [C], Shafali Verma [VC], Niki Prasad, Harmanpreet Kaur, Anushka Sharma, Richa Ghosh [WK], G Kamalini [WK], Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Shree Charani, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Jintimani Kalita, Minnu Mani.
Zimbabwe: Josephine Nkomo (c), Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Kelis Ndhlovu, Michelle Mavunga, Francisca Chipare, Olinder Chare, Kudzai Chigora, Nyasha Gwanzura, Nomvelo Sibanda, Loryn Phiri, Chiyedza Dhururu, Modester Mupachikwa, Tendai Makusha, Sharne Mayers.
Match starts at 7 PM IST.
