Renuka Singh is ruled out of India's Zimbabwe ODIs with Jintimani Kalita named her replacement

India begin their ODI series against Zimbabwe in Vadodara on Friday without Renuka Singh, with the uncapped Assam seamer Jintimani Kalita called into the squad in her place

The BCCI confirmed the change on Thursday, a day before the first of three ODIs at Kotambi Stadium. The match starts at 2:00 PM IST, with the toss half an hour earlier.

Renuka has not been described as injured. The board said she "is still building up the bowling volume required for the 50-over format at the BCCI Centre of Excellence", where she has been working rather than touring.

Kalita needs no settling-in period. She was part of the T20I squad in Raipur and travelled to Vadodara with the rest of the group, so the selectors have promoted a bowler already inside the camp.

Ten overs, not four

The distinction the board drew is a specific one. A seam bowler can be ready for a four-over spell in a T20I some time before she is ready to send down ten in a one-day international.

That is the threshold Renuka has yet to clear at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and it is the reason given for her absence from a series India are expected to win comfortably.

Her last ODI came against Australia in Hobart in March, in a series India lost 0-3. She has not played the format since.

A reshaped seam group

Kalita joins Kranti Gaud, Nandani Sharma and Sayali Satghare as the pace options in a 15 that leans heavily on spin and all-round batting.

Vaishnavi Sharma, Sree Charani and vice-captain Deepti Sharma carry the slower bowling, with Deepti also among the senior batters.

Kalita is listed as a seam-bowling all-rounder rather than a specialist quick, which gives the side an extra batting option low down if she is picked.

Smriti Mandhana captains the side, leading India in an ODI series for the first time since taking the role across formats this month. The rest of the 15 stands as the selectors named it on 6 October.

From Mangaldai to the WPL

Kalita comes from Mangaldai, in Assam's Darrang district, and was the first woman cricketer from the state to be picked in the Women's Premier League.

Mumbai Indians signed her at her base price of ₹10 lakh at the inaugural auction in 2023, when she was 19, and she spent three seasons with the franchise.

Gujarat Giants took her in January 2026 as an injury replacement for Titas Sadhu, and have retained her for the 2027 season.

She has spoken before about what an India cap would mean. "To play for India has been my dream. I've wanted it for a long time," she told the Assam Tribune.

Points on offer for the first time

The three ODIs open India's campaign in the 2025-2029 ICC Women's Championship, the qualifying competition for the 2029 World Cup. The T20I leg that preceded them carried no such standing.

India swept those three matches 3-0 in Raipur, a result that counted for form and little else.

Zimbabwe, captained by Josephine Nkomo, are on their first tour of India, and these are the first bilateral matches the two sides have played.

Absences on both counts

Renuka is not the only name missing from the batting and bowling groups India might have expected to field. Jemimah Rodrigues is absent as she recovers from a hamstring injury.

That leaves Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal as the options in the top order, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Tejal Hasabnis in the middle.

Richa Ghosh and Yastika Bhatia are the two wicketkeepers named, Bhatia on a ground close to home.

The second and third ODIs follow at the same venue on 25 and 28 October, both starting at 2:00 PM IST.

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