Sydney Thunder batting prodigy Phoebe Litchfield has earned her maiden call-up to the Australian team, named in a 15-player squad for December’s T20 tour of India.

Australia will travel to the sub-continent next month for a five-match series against India as the Commonwealth Games champions begin preparations for the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa.

Phoebe made her WBBL debut in 2019 as a 16-year-old and was earmarked as a future Australian cricketer from a young age. The left-hander became a stalwart for the Thunder and the Breakers while juggling school and university commitments, earning a call-up to the Australia A squad earlier this year.

The teenager proved her worth by finishing the three-match series against England A as the highest run-scorer, cracking back-to-back fifties in Canberra.

Phoebe was the Thunder’s highest run-scorer this WBBL season, scoring 280 runs with two half centuries.

Alyssa Healy will captain Australia for the first time, with incumbent skipper Meg Lanning still unavailable for selection as she continues her indefinite break from the game.