Smriti Mandhana injured her left middle finger while fielding against Australia in a warm-up match on Monday.
Smriti Mandhana, India’s vice-captain, has been ruled out of the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team’s Women’s T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan. On Sunday, the highly anticipated match will take place at Newlands in Cape Town. Mandhana, 26, suffered the injury while fielding in a warm-up game against Australia earlier this week, forcing her to miss the second warm-up match against Bangladesh. “Smriti is recovering from a finger injury and will most likely not play. It’s not a fracture, and we’re hoping she’ll be ready for the second game “During a press conference, stand-in coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar stated.
“You want to play the top teams, your arch-rivals if you can call them that. We are completely prepared for whatever happens, and the atmosphere is pleasant “Kanitkar elaborated.
The former India men’s team cricketer also stated that captain Harmanpreet Kaur has fully recovered from the shoulder niggle she suffered during the Tri-series against the West Indies and South Africa.
“Harman is ready to go. She has batted in the nets for the last two days and is fine “Kanitkar added.
Earlier on Saturday, Mandhana posted her images on social media in full cricketing gear and captioned them, “Let’s go T20WorldCup2023”.
