Information map of Indian vice captain Smriti Mandhana© AFP
India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has been ruled out for Harmanpreet Kaur’s women’s T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan, sources told NDTV on Saturday. The much-anticipated match will take place at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday. The 26-year-old opener injured his left middle finger when he came on in Monday’s friendly against Australia. “She was injured during a practice match. We cannot say she is out of the World Cup. But she may miss the Pakistan match,” an ICC source told news agency PTI earlier. The southpaw was third against Australia, not her usual starting position. Her innings lasted just three balls.
Mandhana then missed India’s second warm-up match against Bangladesh on Wednesday. There are also concerns about the health of captain Harmanpreet Kaur. She injured her shoulder in last week’s three-peat final against South Africa. “Health is fine. It’ll be fine with rest,” Kaul said after the final.
However, the middle batsman failed to bat in India’s two warm-up matches. The “Lady in Blue” are drawn in Group B with England, Pakistan, West Indies and Ireland.
with PTI input
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