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India women cricketers - (Source: AFP)
After the Women’s T20 World Cup, focus shifts to Test cricket as India face England in a one-off Test at the iconic Lord’s ground. It is a four-day Test starting from July 10 and will be the first time that Harmanpreet Kaur and her side will play a Test at Lord’s.
The Indian team is fresh off a heartbreak at the T20 World Cup, and it will be difficult to switch to red-ball cricket in such a short span of time. Nonetheless, the fans are excited, and the upcoming match has already sold over 30,000 tickets for four days.
India Women vs England Women One-Off Test: Preview
For England, they have dealt a heavy blow as Tammy Beaumont has announced her retirement from Test cricket after the Lord’s Test.
India will miss Pratika Rawal’s services due to injury. Rawal sustained the injury while fielding during last week's second one-dayer against England A in Taunton. The BCCI roped in Priya Punia as her replacement. Therefore, this article will shed light on India women’s predicted playing XI against England.
India Likely Playing XI vs England- One-Off Test
Openers and Top Order (Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol)
Smriti Mandhana will open the innings along with Shafali Verma. The iconic duo also holds the record for 2nd highest-partnership in Test cricket when they stitched a 292-run stand for the first wicket against South Africa in Chennai, 2024.
Also Read: Where India Went Wrong At The Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Ideally, Pratika Rawal would have batted at No.3, but her injury now opens the doors for Harleen Deol's Test debut.
Middle Order and All Rounders (Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh)
India have a solid middle-order, which is their strongest department. Jemimah Rodrigues will bat at No.4 while Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will make her presence at No. 5.
The Women's team have a lot of options in the all-rounders cateogry, but Deepti Sharma is head and shoulders ahead of the rest. In 10 innings, Deepti has 335 runs, which includes four fifty-plus scores.
With the ball, Deepti Sharma has 22 wickets in 9 innings. Rest, Richa Ghosh will be there to add explosiveness to the innings and look for some aerial route as well.
Bowlers (Sayali Satghare, Renuka Thakur, Nandni Sharma, Shree Charani)
Among the bowlers, Sayali Satghare will be crucial. The right-arm seamer was swinging the ball during WPL 2026 and formed a formidable pair with Lauren Bell. She took 9 wickets in 6 innings.
Renuka Thakur is not enjoying the best of times, but her ability to nip the ball back in will be very important at Lords. Nandni Sharma will be the third seamer and Shree Charani as the prime spinner.
India Predicted Playing XI vs England- One-Off Test Match
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Sayali Satghare, Renuka Thakur, Nandni Sharma, Sree Charani
Also Read: Pratika Rawal Ruled Out Of One-Off Test Vs England; Replacement Named
