A big blow to India before the match against Pakistan, Smriti Mandhan seriously injured

The first fourth match of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 will be played between India and Pakistan, two arch-rivals. The match will be played in Cape Town on Sunday (February 12) at 6.50 pm. But before playing their first match in the World Cup, the Indian women’s team suffered a major setback. The team’s opening batsman and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana will not play in the match. Smriti Mandhana is said to have withdrawn due to injury.

Indian Mila team coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar confirmed that Smriti Mandhana () will not play in the match against Pakistan. The coaches also informed that even if Smriti got injured, there is no fracture. This means that Smriti is likely to be available to represent the Indian team before the second match of the World Cup. The Indian team is scheduled to play the second match of the T20 World Cup against the West Indies on February 15, for which Smriti Mandhana is expected to be available. Meanwhile the good news for the team is that skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is fully fit. Recently Harmanpreet injured his shoulder during the tri-series against West Indies and South Africa. But before the World Cup, she worked on her injury and made a comeback.

Information about Smriti Mandhana’s injury was received from Rishikesh Kanitkar (). He said, “We are eagerly waiting for the match against Pakistan. Harmanpreet is fit to play. She has batted in the nets for the last two days and has recovered completely. However, Smriti’s finger is injured and she is still recovering from it. So she will not be able to play in the series. It is not a fracture and we hope she will be available for the second match.”

The Indian women’s team got more than three weeks of practice ahead of the T20 World Cup being played in South Africa. Coach Kanitkar studied the conditions favorable to spin bowling and prepared the team accordingly. The team will have four spin bowling options in the form of Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Devika Vaidya and Rajeshwari Gaikwad.

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