India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been ruled out of the first women’s T20 International of a three-match series against South Africa due to injury, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said on Friday. Harmanpreet suffered a hip-flexor injury while batting in the fifth ODI against South Africa on Wednesday. The series opener will be held on Saturday. “He (Harmanpreet) is out of tomorrow’s match and the rest of his status will be updated by the medical team,” Mandhana, a left-handed opener, said during a virtual pre-match press conference.
India were eliminated by South Africa in the women’s ODI series, in which the visitors were kept in a rubber pocket of 1-4.
Mandhana said that the ODI series is a thing of the past as his focus is on T20 rubber.
“We will try to forget the ODI and focus on the T20 series. Yes, the ODI series was a disappointment but we have to forget it and move on. There are some new faces in the team, so we need to think afresh. ” Mandhana said.
“We discussed our preparations, what went wrong in the ODI series and how to proceed. We now need to focus on the T20. We are now looking at the ODI series as preparation for the T20 series.”
The Indian women were very lethargic on the field during the ODI series and Mandhana insisted on working on that aspect of the game.
“We have been in the process for the last 3-4 years. There have been some catches left in ODIs, but we need to reinvigorate the T20 series and leave the disappointment of the ODI series behind,” he said.
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He also said that India’s biggest strength spinners need to pull up their socks in the T20 series.
Mandhana said, “Spinners are our biggest strength. Certainly, they (spinners) were not inconsistent in their bowling (in the ODI series). But if we keep bowling in the same areas, it will be difficult for the batsmen.” ” said.
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