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Mithali Raj has been named as the captain of the ODI team while Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the T20I team against South Africa at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Stadium in Lucknow.’

The ODI and T20I squads have some notable absentees as India women will be without the likes of Shikha Pandey, Veda Krishnamurthy, Ekta Bisht and Taniya Bhatia.

Indian women were not involved in any competitive international action since the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup in Melbourne on March 8. India players featured in the 4-match Women’s T20 Challenge which was held alongside the Indian Premier League 2020 play-offs in the UAE.

Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur lead 3 teams as they played their matches in Sharjah.

The resumption of India women’s international cricket in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic comes at a crucial time as the team will be looking to have as much match practice before next year’s 50-over Women’s World Cup in February.

Thiruvananthapuram was initially chosen as the venue for the series but the Kerala Cricket Association had expressed its inability to host the matches. Players from both teams will be in quarantine and a bio-bubble environment will be in place during the limited-overs series.

India Women’s squad for ODI series: Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), D. Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Swetha Verma (wicket-keeper), Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, C. Prathyusha, Monica Patel.

India Women’s T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Ayushi Soni, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, C. Prathyusha, Simran Dil Bahadur.

India women vs South Africa women full schedule
ODI series

1st ODI on March 7
2nd ODI on March 9
3rd ODI on March 12
4th ODI on March 14
5th ODI on March 17

T20I series
1st T20I on March 20
2nd T20I on March 21
3rd T20I on March 23

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AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective and should be deployed widely, including in countries where the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce its efficacy, a World Health Organization panel said on Wednesday.

The benefits of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University outweigh any risks and the shot should recommend for use, including in people aged 65 and older, the WHO panel said.

Earlier South Africa stopped part of its roll out of the AstraZeneca vaccine after data small trial showed it did not protect against mild to moderate illness from the 501Y.V2 variant of the coronvirus now dominant in the country.

The WHO said it expected by mid-February to finalise its review of the shot for emergency use approval under COVAX agreement.

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Matshidiso Moeti told reporters that a larger rollout of the millions of doses from COVAX is expected by June – the second major vaccine announcement this week for the African continent of 1.3 billion people as infections surge for a second time.

The African Union chair on Wednesday said 270 million doses have been secured from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca via the Serum Institute of India. Doses of the vaccines are expected to be allocated to countries based on population size and the severity of the outbreak, with health workers considered the highest priority after thousands have been infected.

The African continent is now recording about 30,000 new virus cases daily. More than 5,400 deaths were reported last week in Africa. The continent has more than 3.1 million confirmed virus cases as the second wave of infections is hitting hard.

The case fatality rate in Africa is now 2.4 percent, above the global rate of 2.2 percent. Some 20 African countries have case fatality rates above the global average, including Sudan at 6 percent, Egypt at 5.5 percent, Mali at 3.9 percent, Congo at 3.1 percent and South Africa at 2.8 percent.

South Africa,one of the hardest-hit countries in Africa is now dominated by the highly infectious variant of the virus. The country has more than 1.2 million cases including 35,000 deaths.

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar urged full support of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) in reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to reflect contemporary global realities and the feelings of millions of people in the world.

Thank FM Sergey Lavrov for convening the #BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today.

Positively assessed the progress made during the Russian Chair, especially in counter-terrorism, economic cooperation, ICTs and people-to-people contacts. pic.twitter.com/QOZMliC9tW

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 4, 2020

Mr Jaishankar made the comments during a virtual meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers convened by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on September 4.

India, Japan, Germany and Brazil (G4) are eyeing a permanent seat at the UNSC, which currently has only five veto-wielding powers- United States, Russia, Britain, France and China.

Jaishankar also called for reformed multilateralism including the restructuring of international bodies like the World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organisation.

The EAM thanked his Russian counterpart for convening the meeting and highlighted that in the wake of several challenges in economic, political and social/ health fields, BRICS has an important to play.

He also raised the issue of terrorism, in situation in Afganistan and West Asia, and called for enhanced BRICS operation in countering terror.

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In an address to the public, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that since the reintroduction of alcohol sales in June, hospitals have experienced a spike in emergency ward admissions.

Face coverings have also been declared mandatory for transport operators, employers, and owners of businesses and buildings. The company officials are legally obliged to ensure everyone entering their businesses or premises are wearing masks.

The president has also criticized citizens who acted irresponsibly when the country is going through a tough time. He said many people continued to have social gatherings, including parties and overcrowded funerals amid the rapid increase of COVID-19 infections in the country.

“In the midst of our national effort to fight against this virus there are a number of people who have taken to organising parties, who have drinking sprees, and some who walk around in crowded spaces without masks,” he said.

The government has made available almost 28,000 hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. However President Ramaphosa said the country still in need of 12,000 healthcare workers including nurses, doctors and physiotherapists.

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