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Harmanpreet missed the last two T20Is of the three-match series against the Caribbean team in Navi Mumbai, which the hosts won 2-1.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur
Indian women’s cricket team head coach Amol Muzumdar on Saturday expressed hope that regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will recover from a knee niggle in time for the opening ODI against West Indies here on Sunday.
Harmanpreet missed the last two T20Is of the three-match series against the Caribbean team in Navi Mumbai, which the hosts won 2-1. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana led India in Harmanpreet’s absence, making a strong impression by striking three fifties in a row.
“Harmanpreet is going to bat today in the nets… a complete, full nets schedule. We’ll take a call once the nets are over and I’m sure she’ll be fine,” said Muzumdar during a media conference here.
The coach conceded that young wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia’s absence due to injury will be felt in the three-match ODI series, but added that the management will try to pick the best eleven from the 15-member squad.
“Yes, we will feel the absence of some players. Yastika Bhatia is injured, she is doing rehab at NCA. Hopefully, she will be fit and fine very soon. So, we will try and pick the best XI from the 15-member squad here,” he said.
“The pitch…I’ve just had a look at it. It looks like a good pitch. We’ve come from DY Patil (Stadium in Navi Mumbai) where there was red-soil surface, a typical Mumbai pitch. Here it’s a black soil surface, so looking forward to the game,” he added.
Rookie cricketers Pratika Rawal and Tanuja Kanwer have received maiden ODI call-ups, and Muzumdar’s advice to them was to ‘go out and enjoy’ in the middle.
“There are couple of new entrants in the ODI lineup. (I say) just go out there and enjoy yourself and spend some time in the middle.
“That’s the most important thing. Even in training, we would like to practice the way we are going to play in a match, so that’s the message to the newcomers in the team,” he said.
With a turnaround time of only a couple of days between the T20Is and the ODI series, the coach said it is the ‘requirement of modern-day cricket’.
“…to change your game according to the format. We are coming from the T20 format to ODIs. We had a team meeting prior to the departure from hotel. We would like to continue the momentum of T20Is,” said Muzumdar, adding that the dew factor could play a major role like it did during the T20Is.
“In T20s, we saw it played a major role, but toss is not in our hands. We will have to adjust to that,” he added.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
- Location :
Vadodara, India
