India firm favourites as focus shifts to ODIs against Zimbabwe in Vadodara
India begin the home one-day international series against Zimbabwe at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Kotambi on October 22, 2026, entering the ODI leg as firm favourites after completing a 3-0 sweep in the T20I series of the teams' maiden bilateral engagement.
The Indian side arrive at the start of the ODI matches as a high-flying team in its preferred format, hosting an opponent ranked 11 places below it, while managing concerns over seam-bowling depth. Renuka Singh has been ruled out after not building the required bowling volume for 50-over cricket at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, a development that follows ongoing issues with injuries to India’s seam resources. The growth of the Women’s Premier League and a gradual shift towards prioritising pace at the domestic level have expanded the raw pool available to selectors, but India remain mindful of Renuka’s absence ahead of the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy. India’s batting strength, however, is expected to shoulder much of the responsibility for replicating the T20I dominance in the upcoming one-day fixtures.
Jemimah Rodrigues is absent through injury, creating an opening for players such as Yastika Bhatia and Tejal Hasabnis—both of whom have posted notable scores at A level recently—or Harleen Deol, who was part of the World Cup-winning side in 2025 but has since fallen out of favour. The India squad is led by Smriti Mandhana, with Deepti Sharma named vice-captain, and includes Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk) and others. Selectors' options among the middle-order and wicketkeeping roles are therefore under scrutiny as they finalise combinations for the 50-over format.
Zimbabwe, captained by Josephine Nkomo, will seek to test India despite the ranking gap, and their squad contains players such as Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and Modester Mupachikwa. The visitors aim to raise their challenge after the T20I series and will look to exploit any vulnerabilities in India’s seam department created by injuries. Josephine Nkomo’s side remains physically and tactically prepared to pose questions to the hosts in the longer white-ball format.
The venue sits in the village of Kotambi, described as a quiet area off the state highway, and will host the ODI leg at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium. Local conditions and the pitch at the stadium will be factors for both teams as they transition from the shorter format. Match preparations for India include managing workload and rhythm for bowlers returning to 50-over demands following the T20I sweep.
Squads named for the series are provided in full: India—Smriti Mandhana (Capt.), Deepti Sharma (Vice-capt.), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol, Tejal Hasabnis, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Vaishnavi Sharma, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Jintimani Kalita. Zimbabwe—Josephine Nkomo (Capt.), Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Chiedza Dhururu (wk), Nyasha Gwanzura, Modester Mupachikwa, Sharne Mayers, Loryn Phiri, Francisca Chipare, Kudzai Chigora, Nomvelo Sibanda, Olinder Chare, Michelle Mavunga, Tendai Makusha.
The first ODI of the series will start at 2 p.m.
