Indian women to play a Test match during tour of Australia in September

Indian women to play a Test match during tour of Australia in September

Indian Women's Test Team

The Indian women’s cricket team will play a Test match in Australian soil for the first time since 2006 when they tour Down Under in September. According to ESPN, one Test match has been scheduled apart from a limited overs leg, the details of which are unknown at the moment.

The last time India faced Australia in a Test was in 2006. In total, the two sides have featured in five Tests with no wins to India’s name. In fact, there have only been three series before, with a one-off Test in 1976, a three-match series in 1990 and a one-off in 2006. Just one of the five Test matches were a draw with the Aussies winning the other four. The Indians would want to set that record right this September.

Shikha Pandey, Taniya Bhatia and Shafali Verma to feature

Shafali Verma
Shafali Verma

The Indian team will be led by Mithali Raj and this will be one of those rare years in Indian cricket where the women’s team is featuring in two Tests in the same year. The previous time it happened was back in 2014. The other Test scheduled this year is on June 16 against England in Bristol. Further, this will be their first since they played South Africa in a home Test a whopping seven years ago.

For India, the likes of Shikha Pandey and Taniya Bhatia have returned to the squad while young Shafali Verma has been called up to the ODI and Test teams for the tour of England. It is expected that a similar side would also travel Down Under.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that there has been no official confirmation yet from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or Cricket Australia (CA) about the series. Aussie bowler Megan Schutt however, spilled the beans in a podcast recently. She stated that Australia’s next series would be against India and that preparations were on already. Subsequently, ESPN confirmed the same.

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