Pooja ruled out of T20 series vs Australia, uncapped Anjali in; Devika makes comeback

India allrounder Pooja Vastrakar was ruled out due to an injury as selectors on Friday picked promising uncapped left-arm pacer Anjali Sarvani for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia beginning on December 9 in Mumbai.

Pooja, who led India C team in the Women's T20 Challenger in Raipur, was ''ruled out owing to an injury and was not considered for selection,'' said a statement issued by BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

The 25-year-old Andhra left-arm medium pacer Anjali impressed with her tidy bowling display in Poonam Yadav-led India A's runners-up finish in the Women's Challenger earlier last month.

Anjali was exceptional against India D and finished with figures of 2 for 11 from her three overs to clinch them a final spot. Overall, she bagged three wickets from four matches and returned with a tidy economy rate of 5.50.

The Australia series will also mark the return of Maharashtra left-handed allrounder Devika Vaidya after more than four years.

The 25-year-old leg-spin allrounder, who made her debut way back in 2014 in a T20I against South Africa, last made her international appearance against England in an ODI match in 2018.

Devika played a match-winning 27-ball 41 for India B in their four-wicket win over India C in the T20 Challenger.

Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the side, while Smriti Mandhana will be her deputy.

India will play the first two T20Is at the DY Patil stadium on December 9 and 11, before moving to CCI for the remaining three fixtures on December 14, 17 and 20.

The series will mark India's build-up to the T20 World Cup in South Africa beginning February 10.

Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Devika Vaidya, S Meghana, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper) and Harleen Deol.