Mandhana Names First Squads as India Captain: Niki Prasad Earns Maiden Call-Up for Zimbabwe Series

Smriti Mandhana's era as India's women's captain across all formats has taken its first concrete step, with the BCCI naming the T20I and ODI squads for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe. The three T20Is will be played in Raipur on October 16, 18 and 20, followed by three ODIs in Vadodara on October 23, 25 and 28 — Mandhana's first assignment since replacing the long-serving Harmanpreet Kaur, who remains in both squads as a senior batter. The headline selection is 20-year-old Karnataka batter Niki Prasad, who earns her first T20I call-up after strong domestic and India A form, including knocks of 91, 76 and an unbeaten 54 against Australia A. Anushka Sharma also returns to the T20I setup after three straight fifties against Australia A, while Jemimah Rodrigues misses out as she continues to recover from a hamstring injury suffered in The Hundred. Shafali Verma will serve as Mandhana's vice-captain in the T20Is, with Deepti Sharma deputy in the 50-over format. Renuka Thakur leads the ODI pace attack alongside Kranti Gaud and Nandni Sharma.