Indian Women's Team Looks To Shake Off Rust In Bangladesh

The Indian women's cricket team will be expecting the fresh faces to grab the opportunity with both hands and finishers to flourish in the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh beginning in Mirpur on Sunday, its first international assignment in four months. The T20 series will be followed by three ODIs beginning July 16. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side was last in action at the T20 World Cup in South Africa where it endured a narrow loss to Australia in the knockout phase. In an era where most male cricketers live out of a suitcase due to a relentless schedule, the members of the Indian women's team has had a lot of time to reflect and work on their game.

The last competitive event for the Indian players was the inaugural Women's Premier League in March.

India, who now have all the resources at their disposal, have not been able to take their game to the next level and match the mighty Australia on a regular basis.

The team needs to improve on various aspects including fitness, bowling and the lack of finishers which come at a premium in the shortest format.

The star performers of the team over the past 12 months -- pacer Renuka Thakur and wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh -- are not part of this side due to injury and fitness issues respectively, providing an opening for the rookies to impress.

The seasoned Deepti Sharma will be expected to play the finisher's role in Ghosh's absence with Pooja Vastrakar and Amanjot also needing to chip in with quickfire knocks towards the end of the innings.

Yastika Bhaita and the uncapped Uma Chetry are the two wicketkeeping options in the side. Yastika is expected to start on Sunday and needs to bat a lot quicker than her current strike rate of 85.38.

Bangladesh should not pose a lot of