Asha Sobhana breaks long-standing record as she becomes oldest player to debut for India

Asha Sobhana on Monday scripted history as she made her debut for India at the age of 33. Sobhana received his maiden India cap from her RCB captain Smriti Mandhana to play in the 4th T20I against Bangladesh. Sobhana is the oldest women's cricketer to make her debut for India in the shortest format. Sobhana came into the Indian playing XI in place of another RCB teammate Shreyanka Patil. 

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Asha Sobhana breaks long-standing record

Asha Sobhana broke the long-standing record of Seema Pujare, who had made her T20I debut in 2008 at the age of 32 years and 50 days. Pujare made her debut against Sri Lanka and went on to play just 8 ODIs for the country. She also played an one-off T20I match against Australia women. 

Asha Sobhana earned her maiden call-up to the Indian team following an impressive performance in the WPL 2024, where she finished as the season's second-highest wicket-taker with 12 dismissals. Her pivotal role contributed to RCB clinching their first-ever trophy across men's and women's leagues.

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On the other hand, Bangladesh Women's team introduced 14-year-old medium pacer, Habiba Islam, for her debut in the fourth T20I, hoping she'll make an impact in her inaugural international match. Additionally, India's captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, marks her 300th international appearance in this significant game.

India have already secured the five-match series by winning the first three matches. 

India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, D Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Asha Sobhana, Titas Sadhu, Radha Yadav

Bangladesh Women: Nigar Sultana Joty (c & wk), Nahida Akter, Dilara Akter Dola, Rubya Haider Jhelik, Murshida Khatun, Rabeya, Marufa Akter, Mst Shorifa Khatun, Habiba Islam Pinky, Mst Ritu Moni, Shorna Akter