India women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur confirmed on Thursday that Pooja Vastrakar, who missed out on the home series against Australia last month, has been training hard in the nets. However, a decision on whether she would be available for the Tri-series opener will be taken after a discussion with the team physio.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier stated that Vastrakar’s inclusion in the squad is subject to her fitness, but addressing the media on the eve of the first game against South Africa at the Buffalo Park in East London, Harmanpreet clarified that Vastrakar has been training with the team.
“She (Vastrakar) is with us, and she is doing really well in the nets. The last call can only be taken by the physio, but I can see she is batting and bowling well. Before finalising the final XI, we need to have a chat with the physio and see what kind of workload we have to manage as she missed out on the Australia series,” Harmanpreet said. “But she’s doing everything, and she’s a very important member of the side, and we need to discuss her workload…”
Ahead of next month’s T20 World Cup, India will participate in the Tri-series - also featuring West Indies and home team South Africa - from Friday. The series will also mark the return of Shikha Pandey after more than a year.
“She (Pandey) is someone who can swing the ball in the Powerplays, and is someone who is experienced in the death overs also. Now, we have got a couple of practice sessions, where we gave her a different kind of scenario, where she can improve and execute the plans. Tomorrow is the first game, and then we will discuss which are the areas she is comfortable in. She is coming back after a long time,” Harmanpreet said, adding the team wanted her for the South Africa tour and the World Cup because her presence would bolster the pace department.
While Hrishikesh Kanitkar has travelled with the team as the batting coach, Troy Cooley has joined in as the bowling coach. “We have worked with Troy whenever we were at the NCA. Almost every bowler knows him very well, and he is already with the team, and we are working with him. He’s a very excited support staff, and everyone loves to work with him. He had a few sessions with the bowlers where he guided them, and that worked quite well. Hopefully, we will see the results…”
India will be missing out on the services of Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, who are also in South Africa for the ongoing U-19 Women’s World Cup. Harmanpreet believes that in the absence of Shafali, there are a couple of options that the team is exploring in the slot of an opener.
“We have a couple of options. We will sit and discuss. Everyone is playing well in the nets. We will have to take a call in terms of who opens the innings now that Shafali is not there…”
Taking lessons from the series’ defeat against Australia last month, India wants to work on the weak links leading up to the ICC event. “We want to play our natural game, we don’t want to try something new. South Africa is a country where you have good tracks to bat on, and it also helps the bowlers. We just want to enjoy our cricket,” Harmanpreet said.
“We had a very good series against Australia, though we did not win, there were lots of positives. We want to keep doing the good work. Ahead of the World Cup, this series is important…”
India will begin its T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan in Cape Town on February 12.
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