Renuka Singh Thakur has been ruled out of the ODI series against Zimbabwe, with uncapped pacer Jintimani Kalita named as her replacement. The BCCI confirmed the change on Thursday (October 22), a day before the series opener in Vadodara.

Kalita comes in after being part of the just-concluded T20I series in Raipur, and she has travelled with the team. The pacer from Mangaldai in Assam is the first player from her state to be bought in the Women’s Premier League. She is the injury replacement for Renuka.

The BCCI explained the call through Renuka’s workload. “Renuka is still building up the bowling volume required for the 50-over format at the BCCI Centre of Excellence,” the board said in a release. She is focusing on fitness at the Centre of Excellence.

The ruling came on the eve of the first encounter, putting the focus back on her fitness and workload concerns.

Kalita joins Sayali Satghare in the seam group. N. Sree Charani has amassed over 60 wickets in T20Is, Nandni Sharma took six wickets in the T20I leg, and Kranti Gaud has made the new-ball role her own. There are concerns around the Indian pace pool, so the back-up seamers get a proper look here. Resting Gaud could give the other seam options a longer run.

Smriti Mandhana captains the side, with Deepti Sharma as vice-captain. India have also named Yastika Bhatia, Harleen Deol, Tejal Hasabnis and Pratika Rawal for the ODI leg. Tejal struck 81 off 82 balls in the first one-dayer for India A against Australia A and followed it with 60, while Yastika made 112 off 84 in the second. Yastika’s batting form also raises a question over the keeping duties, with Richa Ghosh the other wicketkeeper in the squad. Harleen Deol, who captained India A in the UK in June, will have a big mandate if given an opportunity.

Jemimah Rodrigues is absent, recovering from a hamstring injury picked up during The Hundred.

India swept the T20I leg 3-0 and enter the ODIs as the reigning world champion in the 50-over format, having won the 2025 ODI World Cup at home. The series is an audition ahead of a tour of South Africa in December and the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy early next year.

Vadodara’s BCA Stadium in Kotambi and Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium are the designated venues for the Champions Trophy, a T20 event. The series is also a chance for the administration to galvanise local fan support before the tournament.

India’s catching efficiency has been under the microscope, with fielding coach Munish Bali at the helm for more than three years.

Zimbabwe have retained the same squad from the T20Is, where they never crossed the 130-mark as a team. Captain Josephine Nkomo was heartened by her side’s fielding, and its batters will want to test themselves in the 50-over format. Zimbabwe’s Sharne Mayers and Kelis Ndhlovu built momentum in phases during the T20Is.

The series opener is scheduled for Friday in Vadodara.