"Pratika has done really well, but Shafali is in the scheme of things": Smriti Mandhana

India openers Smriti Mandhana (left) and Shafali Verma during the ICC T20 World Cup in Dubai earlier this year. Pic/Getty Images

Dropped following poor returns last year, big-hitting opener Shafali Verma "definitely" remains in the scheme of things, Indian women's team captain Smriti Mandhana said on Thursday.

Mandhana is leading the Indian team in the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur, who has been rested for the three-match ODI series against Ireland, along with pacer Renuka Thakur. Known for her penchant to go after the bowlers from the get-go, Shafali was dropped from the squad for the ODI series against Australia in December. "Harman is rested. Shefali in the last two or three one-day series, she's not been part of the squad. Pratika [Rawal] in the last series has done really well in her absence, but definitely Shafali scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket, so she's definitely in the scheme of things. I'm really happy that she went back and got those runs," Mandhana said on the eve of the series opener at Rajkot yesterday.

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Mandhana said the team is looking forward to doing well with resources at her disposal: "As a team, we do not have to think about what's not there because we want to have a positive mindset, we have a really balanced squad. The girls who have come in are really good." While India lost to Australia, they beat the West Indies in the last series and that's a confidence-booster, said Mandhana. "We had a good series against West Indies... 2-1 in the T20I series, 3-0 in the ODIs. That has given us a lot of confidence, different batters at different times got runs, and our bowling attack was on point too. Hoping we keep the form going," added Mandhana.

India W v Ireland W ODI series schedule
The three ODIs will be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on January 10, 12 and 15

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