India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will not be seen in action in the opening women’s T20I of the three-match series against South Africa due to an injury, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana confirmed on Friday (March 19).

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Harmanpreet picked up a hip-flexor injury while batting in the fifth and final ODI against the same opponent on Wednesday (March 17).

The first T20I will be played in Lucknow on Saturday (March 20).

“She (Harmanpreet) is out of tomorrow’s match and rest of the update on her condition will be given by the medical team,” Mandhana said during a virtual pre-match press conference.

The Women in Blue were totally outplayed in the ODI rubber, conceding the five-match series 1-4.

However, Mandhana said the hosts are looking to move forward and turn things around in the T20I series.

“We will try to forget the ODIs and focus on the T20 series. Yes, the ODI series was a disappointment but we need to forget that and move ahead. Some new faces have come in the team, so we need to think fresh,” she remarked.

“We had a discussion on how to go about our preparation, what went wrong in the ODI series and how to go forward. We now need to concentrate on the T20s. We are now looking at the ODI series as a preparation for T20 series.”

The Indian women were below-par in the field during the ODI series and Mandhana stressed on working on that aspect of the game.

“We have been in the process in the last 3-4 years. Few catches haave dropped in the ODis, but we need to get on with a fresh mind in the T20 series and leave behind the ODI series disappointment,” she said.

According to Mandhana, spinners - India’s biggest strength - need to be more consistent during the T20I series.

“Spinners are our biggest strength. Definitely, they (spinners) were not bad but inconsistent in their bowling (in the ODI series). But if we keep pitching the ball in the same areas, it will become difficult for batters,” she concluded.

(With PTI inputs)