India are set to take on Ireland in a three-match ODI series starting on January 10 in Rajkot. The series marks Ireland's first-ever bilateral tour of India, and first bilateral series between the two teams since 2006. After this series, India will switch to T20 mode - as things stand, their next ODI assignment is in July, against England, so they will be keen to get a few things right here with one eye on the home ODI World Cup later this year. Ireland, who sit at the bottom of the Women's Championship table and failed to qualify directly for the World Cup, will be looking to end the cycle on a high with a first women's ODI win against India. Here's a look ahead to the series:
Young talent in focus under Mandhana's captaincy
India will be without their regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur, with Smriti Mandhana set to stand in. Mandhana has previously led India in the format just once, against New Zealand at home last year when Harmanpreet was out injured. India have also rested their premier fast bowler Renuka Singh, who was the highest wicket-taker in the preceding series against West Indies. This means Mandhana will be leading a fairly inexperienced team. It is a chance for India to test out players and increase their talent pool.
The hosts are likely to bring in Raghvi Bist at No. 4, in Harmanpreet's place. Raghvi made her T20I debut last month and earned a maiden call-up to India's ODI squad on the back of strong domestic performances. After playing a key role in Uttarakhand's run to the final of the Senior Women's One Day Trophy earlier last year, she impressed with scores of 82, 70 and 53 for India A against Australia A in August in Mackay.
With Renuka rested and Pooja Vastrakar still unavailable, Saima Thakor is likely to share new-ball duties with Titas Sadhu. India might go in with one of Sayali Satghare - who can bowl medium pace - or an extra spinner in Tanuja Kanwar to replace Renuka. The bowling department looks inexperienced with Thakor, Sadhu and Priya Mishra, who all featured in the ODIs against West Indies, having played just 20 ODIs between them. With Arundhati Reddy continuing to miss out on selection and Renuka's workload in focus, India are on the lookout for back-ups in the pace department.
Can Prendergast inspire Ireland to a first win over India?
Ireland have lost all 12 ODIs they have played against India so far. They had a 2024 of ups and downs in the format, posting series wins against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka and sealing their first win in a match against England since 2001. But they lost the series 2-1 to England, which was followed by a 3-0 loss to Bangladesh before they surged again in the T20Is in Mirpur.
Key to how 2025 pans out for them will be Orla Prendergast. She finished as her side's top run-getter in 2024 and took nine wickets with her medium-pace. Her best performance came in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, where she made 122 and took three wickets.
Senior allrounder Laura Delany and captain Gaby Lewis, who had decent returns in the series against Bangladesh, will also be expected to play a crucial role. Left-arm spinner Aimee Maguire is another player to watch out for: her 11 wickets last year included match-winning figures of 5 for 19 against England.
Rawal in race to make opening slot her own, with Shafali on her heels
Pratika Rawal broke into the India set-up for the West Indies series on the back of solid domestic scores. Opening with Mandhana after Shafali Verma was dropped, Rawal made scores of 40, 76 and 18 in the three games. Since being dropped, though, Shafali has been churning out the runs in domestic cricket. She finished as the top run-getter in the Senior Women's One-Day Trophy that concluded on December 30, scoring 527 in seven games at 75.29, including a 197 against Bengal. She continued her fine form in the ongoing Senior Women's One Day Challenger Trophy. She started the tournament with a match-winning 91 off 71 balls for Team A in the chase against Team B and followed it up with a 58-ball 87 in the second match against Team C.
With Shafali keeping herself firmly in contention for the opener's slot building up to the ODI World Cup, Rawal will need a good series here. Ahead of the first game, Mandhana said Shafali was "definitely in the scheme of things" in ODIs but also acknowledged Rawal's contributions against West Indies.
In-form Hunter out injured for Ireland
Lewis, who took over as captain from Delany last year, will lead a side that's a mix of youth and experience. But it will be missing a key component: Ireland will be without their star young wicketkeeper-batter Amy Hunter, who has sustained a foot injury. Hunter, who is 19 but has already played 31 ODIs for Ireland, finished as their second-highest run-scorer in the format last year.
Joanna Loughran comes in in her place.
A new venue for India women
This will be the first time India will be playing at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. With India set to host the ODI World Cup later this year, they've been playing at different venues since last year to get accustomed to different pitches and conditions. They played three ODIs against South Africa in Bengaluru, hosted New Zealand in Ahmedabad, and then played West Indies in Vadodara. This series will be played in Rajkot on January 10, 12 and 15.