Smriti Mandhana ruled out of T20 World Cup opener, Harmanpreet Kaur fit to feature

Mandhana has a finger problem which has ruled her out of the clash with Pakistan on Sunday (February 12), but the issue is not serious and she should return in time for her country's second assignment of the competition

Smriti Mandhana will miss India's T20 World Cup opener through injury.

Mandhana has a finger problem which has ruled her out of the clash with Pakistan on Sunday (February 12), but the issue is not serious and she should return for her country's second assignment of the competition, against West Indies on Wednesday (February 15).

An X-ray has shown the batter has not sustained a fracture.

Meanwhile, interim head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar confirmed that captain Harmanpreet Kaur has got over a shoulder problem and will lead the time against Pakistan. 

^{Smriti Mandhana will miss India's clash with Pakistan [Getty Images]}

"Harman is fit to play. She has batted for the last two days in the nets, she is fine," Kanitkar said.

"Smriti has a finger injury and is still recovery, so she won't play most-likely. It's not a fracture and we're hopeful she will be available from the second game onwards."

Kanitkar is expecting spin to play a big part in India's campaign.

"Pitches in East London were pretty similar to what we get in India, but Cape Town I am not sure," he said.

"I watched the match yesterday [South Africa v Sri Lanka] and the pitch looked good. There was some assistance for spin, but it will make for good cricket."

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