<p>Karnataka girls Prathyusha Challaru and Monica Patel have broken into the Indian senior women’s ODI and T20I teams that will take on South Africa in Lucknow from March 7-23.</p>.<p>Along with senior left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the number of Karnataka players in the team is now three while middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy’s expected exclusion was a bit of a dampener amid cheer.</p>.<p>The other big names to be shown the door are all-rounder Shikha Pandey, wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia, Ekta Bisht and Anuja Patil. </p>.<p>The 22-member squad will play five ODIs and three T20Is.</p>.<p>The ODI team will be led by veteran Mithali Raj while opener Harmanpreet Kaur will captain the T20 side. </p>.<p>While the 23-year-old Prathyusha is a leg-spinner, Monica, 21, is a left-handed medium pacer from Herons Cricket Club. The two girls were mentored by club’s K Muralidhar in their initial days. Interestingly, Rajeshwari is also a product of Herons CC.</p>.<p>“I am elated by the news of my inclusion,” Prathyusha told DH. “I began playing cricket as a 10-year-old kid and always dreamt of representing the country. Having led the Karnataka side in the U-19 and U-23 tournaments, this challenge of a mammoth scale is an experience I am waiting for,” said Prathyusha.</p>.<p>The squad for ODI series: Mithali Raj (Capt), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), D Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Swetha Verma (wicket-keeper), Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, C Prathyusha, Monica Patel.</p>.<p>T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Ayushi Soni, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, C Prathyusha and Simran Bahadur.</p>
<p>Karnataka girls Prathyusha Challaru and Monica Patel have broken into the Indian senior women’s ODI and T20I teams that will take on South Africa in Lucknow from March 7-23.</p>.<p>Along with senior left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the number of Karnataka players in the team is now three while middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy’s expected exclusion was a bit of a dampener amid cheer.</p>.<p>The other big names to be shown the door are all-rounder Shikha Pandey, wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia, Ekta Bisht and Anuja Patil. </p>.<p>The 22-member squad will play five ODIs and three T20Is.</p>.<p>The ODI team will be led by veteran Mithali Raj while opener Harmanpreet Kaur will captain the T20 side. </p>.<p>While the 23-year-old Prathyusha is a leg-spinner, Monica, 21, is a left-handed medium pacer from Herons Cricket Club. The two girls were mentored by club’s K Muralidhar in their initial days. Interestingly, Rajeshwari is also a product of Herons CC.</p>.<p>“I am elated by the news of my inclusion,” Prathyusha told DH. “I began playing cricket as a 10-year-old kid and always dreamt of representing the country. Having led the Karnataka side in the U-19 and U-23 tournaments, this challenge of a mammoth scale is an experience I am waiting for,” said Prathyusha.</p>.<p>The squad for ODI series: Mithali Raj (Capt), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), D Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Swetha Verma (wicket-keeper), Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, C Prathyusha, Monica Patel.</p>.<p>T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Ayushi Soni, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, C Prathyusha and Simran Bahadur.</p>
