Meg Lanning returns to lead Australia women in their upcoming India tour
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Australia women’s team skipper Meg Lanning will return to international cricket once again during the upcoming India tour after being out of action for almost seven months. Lanning underwent a shoulder surgery and was unavailable for selection since the World Cup semi-final against India in July.
The Australian women’s team will travel India to participate in their ICC Women’s Championship matches against the hosts, which will be followed by a triangular T20I series with England as the third team. Keeping an eye on the importance of the series, Australia selection committee has announced a full-strength team with Lanning as the leader of the side.
“Meg’s rehab has been progressing well, she’s back to her old self with the bat and with a few weeks until the first match, we’re confident she’ll be right to play when the times comes,” Shawn Flegler, the national selector, said, reported Cricbuzz.
“Meg will resume the captaincy and we’re extremely fortunate to have Rach as her deputy after doing a fantastic job as stand-in skipper during the Women’s Ashes. She’ll be a great sounding board for Meg and will continue to drive the standards of the team.”
Due to the retirement of Alex Blackwell, Rachael Haynes has been named the vice-captain of the side that has the likes of uncapped all-rounders Sophie Molineux and Nicola Carey. While Molineux and Carey have been named in both ODI and T20I squad, 20-year-old pacer Belinda Vakarewa was part of the ODI squad.
However, Australia suffered a shocking loss in the form of all-rounder Tahlia McGrath who will not be a part of the tour after suffering a back injury during the final round of WNCL.
"It's unfortunate for Tahlia that she was unavailable for selection, she showed great skills and character during the Ashes and in domestic cricket so the focus for her now will be to get her body right with a view to the World T20," Flegler said.
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