India vs South Africa: Don’t Think We Are Feeling Any Rustiness – Harmanpreet Kaur
Indian women’s team stalwart Harmanpreet Kaur said the side aren’t feeling any “rustiness” even as they approach their first assignment in nearly a year, a five-match ODI series against South Africa which precedes a three-game T20I rubber.
The Indian team last turned up at the highest level on March 8, 2020, when they suffered a disappointing loss to Australia in the final of the T20 World Cup at MCG.
Since then, because of the ongoing pandemic and the various hurdles it had posed to the game of cricket, Harmanpreet & co haven’t been able to add to their tally of international caps.
“I don’t think we are feeling any rustiness, but we are very excited. I know it is a long break for us, but sometimes things aren’t under your control… we are very excited,” said Harmanpreet at the pre-series presser.
An extended break from the top-level game raises doubts over the fitness and concerns for potential injuries, but Harmanpreet said she is confident nobody from the team will struggle on that front and thanked the support staff for the work they’ve put in.
“See when you’re playing cricket back-to-back, there are chances that you would get injured, we are very lucky that we have a great support staff, throughout the tournament, throughout my career, they have always supported, and we are very lucky we have that,” she said.
Harmanpreet “excited” for her 100th ODI game in Lucknow
The ODI series opener in Lucknow on Sunday (March 7) will also be Harmanpreet Kaur’s 100th match in the format. The veteran batter, who made her debut in 2009 against the West Indies, has since made 2,372 runs and is considered among the most dangerous strikers of the cricket ball.
The 31-year-old shared her excitement for the occasion and mentioned that she’ll be sharing her carrier experiences, the ups and the downs, with her teammates.
“First of all thanks for reminding me, I didn’t know. Yes, I will be very excited because first of all playing after a long time and my 100th ODI,” she said.
“I think both things will give me a lot of energy to play and I hope I will do well. If you talk about as a person, I have learnt a lot, because I have seen lots of ups and downs. So I hope whatever experience I have got through cricket, I can share it with my team-mates. I hope with my experience whenever they go through downfall… what I have learnt I can carry forward, that is all I want to do as a player.”
Shikha Pandey “isn’t dropped”: Harmanpreet
Leaving out experienced pacer Shikha Pandey is a decision that has raised eyebrows but Harmanpreet cleared the air saying Pandey hasn’t been dropped but only rested as they wish to try out some new players.
“Sometimes, you need to give chances to other players, so (she) isn’t dropped, we are just giving rest to a few players and we just want to try other players,” said Harmanpreet.
“We are playing after a long time, we wanted to go with the same combination but at the same time you know… sometimes you have to give chances to other players.”