Harmanpreet Kaur ruled out of first ODI against Australia due to thumb injury

Team India head coach Ramesh Powar confirmed that vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur will not be available for the first ODI as she received a blow on her thumb. Kaur’s absence in the middle-order leaves a big hole in India’s line-up and this might force Mithali Raj to again bat at four.

India and Australia will be locking horns in a multi-format series, comprising three ODIs, one-off day-night Test, and three T20Is. The first ODI will be played on September 21.

“Harmanpreet Kaur was deemed fit and hence she was selected for this tour, but unfortunately some days back she got a hit on the thumb so she is not available for the first ODI. The next ODI, we will take a call according to her pain and fitness management. Shikha Pandey is fit and fine, she is available for selection,” Powar said during a virtual press conference.

“As a batting unit, we want to score above 250 consistently. Bowling we are trying to bowl out the opponents so we are trying to use Jhulan upfront so that she can give us breakthroughs. We expect the senior players to guide youngsters which they are doing,” he added.

Talking about the quarantine period, Mithali said: “The two-week quarantine period was tough on our players because it was for two weeks, we did a week in England but this was stretched another week. But we did have a few weights in the room so we were able to follow the training routine given by the trainer and we have also had some Zoom meetings with the support staff and there were a couple of team bonding sessions so that kept the difficult period a little easier on the players, but having said that, it is indeed difficult for the players.”

“We definitely are looking at the composition before the World Cup and we will be giving our players a little more game time to fit in those roles. That is our objective in this series. I have not set any benchmarks for myself in this series, I have always felt that however I am playing, at the end of the day, my performance has to help the team to do well. If we end up winning, that is what I have always played for,” she added.

As far as India’s Australia tour is concerned, all the ODIs are set to be played at Harrup Park in Mackay. The one-off Test (D/N) and the three T20Is will then take place at the Carrara Oval in Queensland.