Indian women’s team’s T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur said that though the decision to omit experienced pacer, Shikha Pandey, from the Indian squad for the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa at home was a ‘tough one’, she was not at all dropped for good as assumed by many.
The Indian women's team will play five ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa, starting with the first one-dayers here on Sunday, which will mark the team's return to competitive cricket after almost 12 months.
Shikha Pandey has played 52 ODIs and 50 T20Is for India, picking a cumulative 109 wickets after making her debut in 2014. She has also played 2 Tests, picking 4 wickets.
“I know it was a tough call, sometimes, you need to give chance to other players. She is not dropped...sometimes you need to take chances, after this tournament we will be able to settle our combination as we have a lot of cricket coming up in the next 2-3 years," said Harmanpreet, who is the captain of India's T20 team, during a virtual press conference.
Harmanpreet said there is no rustiness in the side despite the prolonged time away from the game and they will look to regain their confidence with a good performance against South Africa.
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“I don't think we are feeling any rustiness, we are very excited, I know it is a long break, sometimes things are not in your control. I hope we will have a great tournament. Every tournament is important, and definitely South Africa is one team which has done very well in the last couple of years and for upcoming tournaments, it is an advantage for us to play well against them and regain our confidence since we are playing after a long time,” Harmanpreet said.
When India takes on South Africa on Sunday, Harmanpreet will also complete 100 ODIs for India women’s team.
Talking about the same, Harmanpreet said,” I didn't know that (100th ODI). I will be very excited because first of all we are playing after a long time and then it is my 100th ODI so, both things will give me a lot of energy to play and I hope to do well.”
Harmanpreet said: "It was a long break but sometimes things are not under your control, now we are getting to play cricket and we have to ensure we use this time and make our best combination and prepare for the upcoming tournaments."
(PTI inputs)
