India women’s opening batsman Smriti Mandhana has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against South Africa. Smriti got injured during a practice session, resulting in a fracture on her right toe.
“It’s a mild fracture. The call will be taken based on the assessment of the physios at the NCA. It’s difficult to fix the timeline either way because she still needs to get an MRI done because there is some swelling and it has to die down for the MRI to be taken. Once that’s done, only then the assessment can be made,” told coach WV Raman during the press conference on Tuesday, Oct 8.
Smriti might also miss India’s upcoming tour of West Indies, which begins on Nov 1. India is set to play 3 ODIs in Antigua, followed by 5 T20Is in St Lucia and Guyana.
“She is an experienced player. But other players, like Priya Punia, have scored a lot of runs in the domestic games. This series is not part of the ICC Women’s Championship. So that way it’s a chance for us to try out new players. And I am positive that whoever gets a chance will utilize it fully,” said captain Mithali Raj.
The 20-year-old allrounder, Pooja Vastrakar has been named as Mandhana’s replacement.
India Women squad:
Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-capt), Taniya Bhatia (wk), Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Dayalan Hemalatha, Mansi Joshi, Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Priya Punia, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma
South Africa Women squad:
Sune Luus (capt), Lizelle Lee (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Nondumiso Shangase, Marizanne Kapp, Tazmin Brits, Trisha Chetty, Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba
The opening match of the tournament will be held on Oct 9 at Reliance Stadium in Vadodara.
