Smriti Mandhana has recovered from her toe injury and will join the India women’s squad in the Caribbean ahead of the second ODI against West Indies on November 3.
ESPNcricinfo understands that Mandhana, who had sustained a fracture to her right toe while batting in the nets ahead of the ODI series against South Africa at home last month, will be leaving for the Caribbean on November 2. However, it’s unclear if she will be available for the second and third ODIs of the series, which begins on November 1 in Antigua. The two teams will play a five-match T20I series after the ODIs.
Mandhana spent a part of her recovery at home in Sangli, from where she posted an update via Instagram of her first running session. She subsequently underwent rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru even as the Indian squad left for the Caribbean on October 21. No replacement for Mandhana had been announced at the time.
Mandhana, the vice-captain of the T20I side, had been named in both ODI and T20I squads for the tour, which is India’s final assignment this year. With no India players participating in the ongoing fifth edition of the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia, the matches in the West Indies could give Mandhana a chance to regain form ahead of the tour of Australia in January next year, where India will play a T20I tri-series against the hosts and England in the lead-up to the women’s T20 World Cup in February-March in Australia.
In her most recent international assignment, the T20I series against South Africa in Surat, Mandhana had scored only 46 runs in four innings. Prior to that, she was below her best in the Women’s Cricket Super League in England too, scoring 268 runs in 11 innings for Western Storm.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo