Mithali Raj retains ODI captaincy, remains part of T20 squad for New Zealand

In what can be dubbed as a change of fortunes, Indian legend Mithali Raj has retained her place in the T20 squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour. The development comes a day after former India opener WV Raman pipped former Team India 2011 World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten for the position of India’s women’s cricket coach.

Raj was dropped from the team during the semi-final in the World Women's T20 against England. Women in blue lost the match leading to massive outrage, emails being exchanged between then coach Ramesh Powar and Mithali Raj. Finallhy Powar wasn't given extension even though T20 skipper Kaur came out in support of him.

Many pundits thought Raj would find it difficult to get a place in the T20 squad as captain Harmanpreet Kaur is looking for batters with more flair. But experienced Mithali has retained her place and also ODI captaincy. India will play three ODIs and three T20s against the White Ferns. The tour kicks off on January 24. Hard hitting batter Veda Krishnamoorthy hasn't been included in either of the teams. 

ODI Squad: Mithali Raj (captain), Poonam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Tanya Bhatia (wk), Mona Meshram, Ekta Bist, Mansi Joshi, Dayalan Hemlatha, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey.

T20I Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Mithali Raj, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Anuja Patil, Dayalan Hemlatha, Mansi Joshi, Shikha Pandey, Tanya Bhatia (wk), Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bist, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Priya Punia.