All eyes on India's finisher in Women's T20Is against Bangladesh

Four months after their last international outing, India will take on Bangladesh in a three-match women's T20I series in Mirpur starting July 9. India went down narrowly to Australia in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup but were close to figuring out their best balance in short-form cricket. Some of those players have not made it to this tour though, the most notable absences in the bowling department.

While a series against their neighbours might be low-key given the strengths of the sides, India have a few tough assignments in the year ahead with England and Australia slated to tour the country apart from possible participation in the Asian Games. Here are a few areas that the T20I series in Bangladesh would allow India to focus on.

In the absence of Richa Ghosh, Yastika and Assam's Uma Chetry are the wicketkeeping options India will have in Mirpur. In the past - like during the Commonwealth Games (CWG) - Yastika has played as the primary wicketkeeper, batted in the top three in six out of her ten T20I innings. She also had success in the Women's Premier League (WPL) for champions Mumbai Indians as their primary wicketkeeper who opened the batting.

Chetry, on the other hand, was Assam's second-highest scorer in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy last season. She batted at No. 4 throughout the competition, scoring 120 runs at a strike-rate of 88.88.

India have previously pushed the likes of Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur down a spot down to accommodate Yastika. But this series could be a very good chance to actually try Yastika in the lower-middle order and see if she has what it takes to succeed in that role.

In the CWG final as well as the T20 World Cup semi-final, India were done in by the lack of power-hitting options. Save for the CWG, Ghosh has been a regular presence in India's lower-middle order. But in her absence from this touring party, India will need the likes of Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma to step up.

Deepti took on a similar role in the WPL for UP Warriorz - batting at Nos. 5, 6 and 7 - and finished with a strike rate of 83.33 from 108 balls faced. Vastrakar on the other hand got few chances given the batting might of Mumbai but had a strike rate of 144.89 to show across four innings.

India have had either Radha Yadav or Rajeshwari Gayakwad in their XI in 86 of the 94 T20Is since February 2018. With both missing, India have two uncapped left-arm spinners in 20-year-old Anusha Bareddy and 25-year-old Rashi Kanojiya - both of whom were not part of the WPL - to choose from.

Kanojiya has been in the fringes of selection and was part of the Harmanpreet-led Supernovas' title-winning side in the Women's T20 Challenge in 2022. She has been a consistent performer for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit and is coming off a productive season in 2022-23, where she picked up 19 wickets. Anusha, who plays for Andhra, was part of the Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

The absence of Renuka Singh, who missed out due to injury, allows left-arm seamer Monica Patel, returning for the first time since 2021, to make an impression again. It is also a chance for Meghna Singh, who has slipped down the pecking order and found no takers in the WPL, to provide a reminder of her abilities ahead of big-ticket games in the year ahead.