Star batter likely to miss India’s Women’s 20-20 World Cup Opener Against Pakistan: Reports

Published on February 11, 2023

Smriti Mandhana, India’s vice-captain, has been ruled out of the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team’s Women’s 20-20 World Cup opener against Pakistan, as per recent reports. On Sunday, the highly anticipated match will take place at Newlands in Cape Town. The 26-year-old opener was injured while fielding during a warm-up match against Australia on Monday.

“She suffered an injury in the practice game. We can’t say she is out of World Cup yet. But she could miss the Pakistan game,” an Apex Cricket Council source said.

In place of her usual opening position, the southpaw batted at number three against Australia. Her inning was only three balls long. Mandhana missed India’s second warm-up game against Bangladesh on Wednesday as a result. Harmanpreet Kaur‘s fitness is also an issue. She injured her shoulder in last week’s Tri-Series final against South Africa.

“Body is fine. It will get better with rest,” Kaur had said after the final. The big-hitting middle-order batter, however, did not bat in either of India’s warm-up games. The ‘Women in Blue’ are in Group B with England, Pakistan, the West Indies, and Ireland.

In the meantime, the Indian women’s cricket team will look to hit the ground running in their campaign opener of the Women’s 20-20 World Cup in Cape Town on Sunday, looking for an overdue World Cup title.

The India-Pakistan rivalry has always been one to watch for, full of emotions and drama, and with the Asia Cup defeat in the back of their minds, a much superior Indian team will be looking to settle some scores with the arch-rivals. The fact that the game is scheduled a day before the inaugural Women’s T20 League auction adds to the Indian players’ motivation.

India squad for Women’s 20-20 World Cup

Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey