Pooja Vastrakar, India’s allrounder, was ruled out due to injury, so selectors chose promising uncapped left-arm pacer Anjali Sarvani for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia, which begins on December 9 in Mumbai. Pooja, who led India C in the Women’s T20 Challenger in Raipur, was “ruled out owing to an injury and was not considered for selection,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a statement. Anjali, a 25-year-old Andhra left-arm medium pacer, impressed with her tidy bowling performance in India A’s runner-up finish in the Women’s Challenger earlier this month.
Anjali was outstanding against India D, finishing with figures of 2 for 11 from three overs to secure their place in the final. She took three wickets from four matches and finished with a 5.50 economy rate.
Devika Vaidya, a left-handed allrounder from Maharashtra, will also make her return to the Australia series after a four-year absence. The 25-year-old leg-spin allrounder made her international debut in a T20I against South Africa in 2014 and last appeared in an ODI against England in 2018.
