India’s off-spin bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma is fit and ready for selection for the third T20I against Sri Lanka, head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed on Thursday, the eve of the match.
Deepti had missed the second T20I in Visakhapatnam, which India won by seven wickets, due to a mild fever. The BCCI medical team closely monitored her recovery. “Deepti is absolutely fine. She’s available and fit,” Muzumdar was quoted as saying in the pre-match press conference.
What About Renuka And Jemimah?
India has yet to feature pacer Renuka Singh Thakur in the series so far. Muzumdar explained this decision was due to experimenting with different team combinations.
“For Renuka, again, we were looking at a different combination. Also trying out a few things, and she’s an integral part
of this team, as you’ve known in the last two years. It’s just about trying out a few things within the group,” said Muzumdar.
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Muzumdar also mentioned that Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored 69 not out and 26 in the Visakhapatnam games, skipped the practice session as a precautionary measure. “Jemimah had a little bit of an issue, but I think she’s fine. She’s just resting today. The doctors and the physios are having a close look at her, monitoring her consistently. She should be fine. It’s just a mandatory rest that she wants. We’ll decide the playing XI on the morning of the game.”
Playing At Greenfield
This will be the first time India plays a women’s international game at the Greenfield International Stadium. Muzumdar said they would take time to assess the game plan for securing a series win at the venue.
“We haven’t had the opportunity to have a look at the venue. We’ve just arrived, but I think we’re very happy to explore into Trivandrum and it’s a new sort of a new venue for us. As far as the last two years, I remember this is the first time we’re playing an international women’s game here in Trivandrum. Very happy to be here in Trivandrum and nice to be here in God’s own country.
“It’s not about challenges, it’s about just identifying or knowing the conditions and just catering to them. It’s not constantly about challenges or ‘oh, we haven’t done this, so we’ll do this’. It’s just about whether we feel that bowling first is a good option, then bowling first is a good option, and if we feel that batting first could be a better option on this ground, then we will decide so.
“We’ll have a better idea of the ground and the pitches today. That’s the reason we are here for our nets session. We’ll get a fair idea of the pitch as well as the entire ground. We intend to spend a lot of time on the main ground, so we’ll get a fair idea after that, and we’ll decide accordingly,” he concluded.
(With inputs from Agencies)
