Why is Harmanpreet Kaur not playing today’s 1st T20I between India Women and South Africa Women?

Harmanpreet Kaur not playing: India have taken the field without their regular captain in the first T20I against South Africa Women.

During the first T20I of the ongoing South Africa Women’s tour of India in Lucknow, South Africa captain Sune Luus has won the toss and chose to field.

Coming on the back of drubbing India 4-1 in the five-match ODI series, the visitors would be hoping to put forward a similar performance in the shortest format as well.

“We are gonna have a bowl today. It’s a new format, we’ll try to put pressure on the batters early and try to chase it down. For now, this (chasing) is the winning recipe. Maybe someway down the series, we’ll have a chance to bat first and we just have to take the opportunity.

What kind of scheduling is this to play two Indian T20 teams – men’s and women’s – at the same time on the same day?

— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) March 20, 2021

“We just need to create the winning habit again. T20 is a funny game, it’s very simple. The team with the most runs win. Tonight, we are just going to stick with the basics and stick to our strengths and we’ll see what happens,” Luus told Star Sports during the toss.

Why is Harmanpreet Kaur not playing today’s 1st T20I?

It is worth mentioning that India are taking the field without regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was ruled out of this match yesterday. Star opener Smriti Mandhana is leading the hosts at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium tonight.

“I have a bit of experience [in captaincy]. Don’t being being in this role. In cricket, it’s important to keep your past back. That’s what we discussed. We had a good T20 Challenge, girls were a bit prepared for the T20s. The one-day series didn’t go our way. We need to start everyday as a fresh day, that’s what we are going to do,” Mandhana told Star Sports during the toss.

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Having retired hurt after suffering a hip-flexor injury during the fifth ODI at the same venue, it would be interesting to see if Kaur regains fitness before the second T20I tomorrow.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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