Shabnam Shakil added to the India Women squad

Under-19 World Cup-winning pacer Shabnam Shakil has been given her first India senior call-up after being named as a late addition to the national squads for the ongoing multi-format series against South Africa.

Shakil, 17, is likely to be added as cover or in view of the workload of India’s frontline pacers. Pooja Vastrakar and Renuka Thakur shared the new ball duties in the opening ODI of the three-match series currently underway in Bengaluru.

However, Vastrakar was a doubtful starter for the ODIs, her selection in the initial squad dependent on fitness after reporting a shoulder problem for which the pacer underwent rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru. On Wednesday, in Thakur’s absence in the second ODI – termed ‘halftime’ by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur during the toss – Arundhati Reddy received her maiden ODI cap. Thakur, meanwhile, was seen undergoing a fitness test on the sidelines of the team’s pre-match training, under the supervision of team’s S&C coach Anand Date.

For the one-off Test, to be played in Chennai, the Indian squad already has a fourth pace bowling option in Meghna Singh in addition to the three from the ODI squad. Meghna will then make way for pace bowling all-rounder Amanjot Kaur for the three-match T20I series.

Shakil was also in Bengaluru until recently, first as part of the Pacers-specific camp captaincy for the Indian squads for the series and then part of the chairman’s XI that played a warm-up match against the tourists. Only 14 overs of BP XI’s batting were possible in the 50-overs match before the match was rained out.

After spending the first season on the bench at Gujarat Giants, Shakil made his late debut in the 2024 season, taking four wickets in four WPL matches at an economy rate of 7.