In a major blow for the Indian women’s cricket team ahead of their upcoming series against England, vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been ruled out due to an injury in her left ankle.
Harmanpreet sustained the injury a few days ago when she was in Patiala. She, however, came to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday and took part in fielding practice to assess if she was comfortable running about. She is understood to have not been feeling fully fit. Scans later revealed a grade-2 tear in the left ankle, ESPNcricinfo reported on Wednesday.
Bowling all-rounder Harleen Deol, who plays for Himachal Pradesh in the domestic circuit, will replace Harmanpreet in the one-day team, which is captained by Mithali Raj. Harleen was crucial to Himachal Pradesh’s journey to the semi-final of the inter-state 50-over competition in December last year. She even impressed all in the Challenger Trophy earlier this year and represented Board President’s XI in the warm-up game against England, scoring 21, but could not return with a wicket.
The India-England ODI series will start on February 22 at the Wankhede Stadium. The series is a part of the ICC Women’s Championship.
India is currently third on the table with 12 points from as many games and it is highly unlikely that the home side would play against Pakistan, which means India need to win the series in order to avoid qualifiers ahead of the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand.
On the other hand, England is at seventh place on the points table with ten points from nine games.
