Pune, Nov 9 (IANS) India skipper Smriti Mandhana will captain defending champions Maharashtra in the Super League stage of the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, with Tejal Hasabnis named as her vice-captain in a 16-member squad announced by the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) on Monday.
Smriti was unavailable for the league stage of the competition due to her leading India to white-ball series wins over Zimbabwe at home last month. After taking a short break post the completion of the series against Zimbabwe, Smriti will be back to state duties and help Maharashtra retain the title they won last season.
Experienced campaigners such as Devika Vaidya, Anuja Patil, Mukta Magre and Gautami Naik are present, while the specialist wicketkeepers are Shivali Shinde and Damini Bankar.
The eight sides that made the Super League have been divided into two groups of four. Maharashtra have been drawn in Group B alongside Andhra, Railways and Mumbai, while Karnataka, Baroda, Vidarbha and Delhi form Group A.
All matches of the Super League stage will be held in Ahmedabad, with the Gujarat College Cricket Ground ‘A’ and Ground ‘B’ of the Narendra Modi Stadium as the venues. Maharashtra will commence their Super League campaign against Andhra in the 9 a.m. fixture at the Gujarat College Cricket Ground ‘A’ on November 14.
They will then face heavyweights Railways at the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground ‘B’ at 11 a.m. on November 16. But undoubtedly the most keenly awaited clash for Maharashtra will be against Mumbai at the Gujarat College Cricket Ground ‘A’ at 1.30 p.m. on November 18.
Mumbai, who are expected to be led by India batter Jemimah Rodrigues, start their campaign against Railways on November 14 and play Andhra on November 16 before meeting Maharashtra.
With each team playing only three games, the margin for error is thin. Only the two group toppers will progress, and they will square off in the final to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground ‘B’ on November 20.
Maharashtra squad: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Tejal Hasabnis (vice-captain), Devika Vaidya, Mukta Magre, Anuja Patil, Shweta Mane, Shraddha Pokharkar, Dnyaneshwari Patil, Isha Pathare, Ishita Khale, Gautami Naik, Shivali Shinde (wicketkeeper), Bhakti Mirajkar, Isha Ghule, Damini Bankar (wicketkeeper), and Priyanka Ghodke.
–IANS
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