No injury concerns for Harmanpreet Kaur for game against Sri Lanka: Smriti Mandhana

India Women's vice-captain Smriti Mandhana addressed the press conference on Tuesday, October 08, which confirmed about the availability of Harmanpreet Kaur.

India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday at the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup 2024. While they did win the game, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (29 off 24, retd hurt) had to leave the field having almost confirmed the victory, being retired hurt after the fourth ball of the penultimate over. Sajana Sajeevan hit a boundary off her first ball as the Women in Blue won the match with seven balls remaining, but there were speculations regarding the Indian captain's availability for the must-win game against Asian champions Sri Lanka on Wednesday, October 9.

Kaur was India's second highest run-scorer of the previous match, and held one end to ensure that they did not lose wickets to a tight bowling done by the Pakistanis. As a result, her availability for the Sri Lankan encounter marks a major boost for the side. Her batting position, though, remains under question, as she has batted at 3 against New Zealand, and no. 4 against Pakistan.

Pooja Vastrakar's fitness under scrutiny

Additionally, Mandhana also cleared the air around Pooja Vastrakar's doubts regarding inclusion for the match on Wednesday. She confirmed that a call on Vastrakar's match-readiness will be taken on Wednesday morning, just to give themselves enough time to finalize the playing combination. It is also worth mentioning that Vastrakar had missed the tie against Pakistan due to fitness, however, she is free from a serious concern, Mandhana confirmed.

Also Read: Women's T20 WC 2024: Match 12, IND-W vs SL-W Match Prediction

Speaking of India Women's campaign at the tournament, they have played a couple of games so far, having lost one and won the other. In the Group A of the global event, the Kaur & Co. are currently on the fourth spot, only ahead of Lankans. The first spot is held by Australia, second by New Zealand, while Pakistan are in the middle.