West Indies will be without veteran allrounder Stafanie Taylor for their upcoming white-ball tour of India. The 33-year-old is currently rehabilitating from an injury, according to a CWI release, and will not be available for the three T20Is and three ODIs in India.
Deandra Dottin, who returned to West Indies’ squad for the T20 World Cup earlier this year in the UAE, two years after announcing her international retirement, is set to make her ODI comeback during this tour.
Dottin had last played an ODI in March 2022 but her recent white-ball form is encouraging. According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, she was among the most impactful players in the 2024 T20 World Cup and in the WBBL earlier this month, she had smashed an unbeaten 46 off 18 balls at a strike rate of 255.55 to secure Melbourne Renegades’ win against Adelaide Strikers in Adelaide.
Seamer Shabika Gajnabi and wicketkeeper-batter Rashada Williams are back for both the ODI and T20Is after having missed out on the T20 World Cup squad. This is a chance for them and other players to impress the Women’s Premier League scouts.
“We want to get more girls involved with franchise cricket moving forward and looking toward India, it’s always good to play in front of the Indian IPL teams,” Shane Deitz, the West Indies coach, said. “It is good for our ladies to start getting their names in front of those people, to hopefully open some opportunities in the future.”
Deitz also drew confidence from the T20 World Cup where West Indies qualified for the semi-finals. “We want to take the good momentum we gained at the T20 World Cup into this series,” he said. “We showed that we can compete against the top teams, which was pleasing.”
Mumbai will host the three T20Is before the series ends with three ODIs in Vadodara. West Indies will arrive early in India and will tune up with a ten-day acclimatisation camp. The ODI leg carries crucial points for the ICC Women’s Championship.
West Indies last played a white-ball series in India in 2016. They won the T20Is 3-0 and lost the ODIs 0-3.
West Indies ODI and T20I squad
Hayley Matthews (capt), Shemaine Campbelle (vice-capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Nerissa Crafton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Rashada Williams
Source: ESPN Crickinfo
