IND-W vs AUS-W: Harmanpreet Kaur Likely to Miss Women's T20 World Cup Semi-Final; Pooja Vastrakar Ruled out

Harmanpreet Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar fell ill a day before the semi-finals vs Australia. While Vastrakar has already been ruled out, India are hoping their captain recover to full match fitness by the evening on February 23

Source: Twitter

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur is racing against time to recover for the all-important semi-final clash of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 vs Australia, today, February 23. Pooja Vastrakar has been ruled out and is being replaced by Sneh Raham informed BCCI. "Pacer Pooja Vastrakar has been ruled out due to an upper respiratory tract infection! The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 has approved @SnehRana15 as a replacement for Pooja Vastrakar in the India squad,: tweeted BCCI on Thursday. Earlier, Indian Express had reported that both Harman and Pooja fell ill a day before the match and were admitted to a local hospital in Cape Town. They were released in the evening.

While Vastrakar has been ruled out, Harmanpreet's participation in the semi-final match is not confirmed yet. The Australia match will be India's toughest in the tournament so far. Aussies are looking for their third consecutive title and India required their best players to be on the park for this big game. 

If Harmanpreet misses out due to illness, Smriti Mandhana will take charge as the captain of the side. Harleen Deol is expected to replace her in the playing 11. With Vastrakar missing out, India will be forced to make bowling changes as well. Vastrakar used to open bowling with Renuka Singh Thakur and in her absence, Anjali Sarvani could be given the chance. It is also true that Harman and Pooja have not been in top form in this World Cup so far yet any team requires their best players in big matches like semi-finals. 

UPDATE _ - Pacer Pooja Vastrakar has been ruled out due to an upper respiratory tract infection!

The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 has approved @SnehRana15 as a replacement for Pooja Vastrakar in the India squad! #T20WorldCup | #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/NKiTvp22Hn

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) February 23, 2023

Harmanpreet has scored just 66 runs in four matches. But she is a big match player and comes to to her best when the knockouts arrive. Also, she is the captain and her leadership will be massively missed on the field. Vastrakar, on the other hand, has picked up just 2 wickets in the tournament.

If both Harmanpreet and Vastrakar miss out, more pressure will be on the shoulders of Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma in the big game. Meg Lanning's side are world champions and it will take a special effort from this team to win the match.