INDW vs PAKW: In a major setback for India ahead of their T20 World Cup 2023 opener against Pakistan, the team's star batter Smriti Mandhana is all but ruled out of the opening match. Mandhana, who sustained a finger injury during a practice game, is still recovering and the team is hopeful that she will play in the second game. Notably, the team's captain Harmanpreet Kaur is fit to play.
During a press conference, India's stand-in coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar opened up about the fitness of both players. "Smriti has a finger injury and is still (in) recovery, so she won't play most likely. It's not a fracture and we're hopeful she will be available from the second game onwards," stand-in coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar said during a press conference.
"You want to be playing the strong teams, the arch-rivals if you can call them that. We are totally prepared for what happens, the atmosphere is good," added Kanitkar. "Harman is fit to play. She has batted for the last two days in the nets, she is fine," Kanitkar added.
Earlier, Mandhana donned the cricketing gear and posted her images on social media captioning them, "Let's go T20WorldCup2023". Mandhana's injury update is doing the rounds on many media reports and a report from the news agency PTI recently stated that Mandhana is likely to miss the T20 World Cup opener on February 12. "She suffered an injury in the practice game. We can't say she is out of World Cup yet. But she could miss the Pakistan game," an ICC source told PTI.
Mandhana suffered a finger injury during India's World Cup warm-up game against Australia and missed the second match against Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Kaur faced a shoulder injury during the final of the Tri-Series against South Africa last week. The Indian skipper had said after the match, "Body is fine. It will get better with rest."
The Indian Women's Cricket team will be eyeing a maiden World Cup title as the T20 World Cup gets underway. The first match of the tournament will be played between Sri Lanka and South Africa on February 10. The second match will be played between West Indies and England on February 11, followed by India's blockbuster match against Pakistan on February 12. India are placed in Group B of the tournament, alongside, Pakistan, England, Ireland and West Indies.
