LUCKNOW, March 5: Indian women’s ODI team vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Friday said it was a “tough call” to leave veteran pacer Shikha Pandey out of the upcoming limited-overs series against South Africa and insisted that she has not been dropped for good.
The Indian women’s team will play five ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa, starting here on Sunday, which will mark the team’s return to competitive cricket after almost 12 months.
Pandey’s omission from the ODI and T20 teams for the South Africa series created quite a flutter. She was the India’s second highest wicket-taker in their previous assignment — the T20 World Cup.
“I know it was a tough call, sometimes, you need to give chance to other players,” said Harmanpreet, who is the captain of India’s T20 team, during a virtual press conference ahead of the first ODI on Sunday.
“She is not dropped…sometimes you need to take chances, after this tournament we will be able to settle our combination as we have a lot of cricket coming up in next 2-3 years.”
The 31-year-old Pandey has played 52 ODIs and 50 T20 Internationals for India, taking 73 and 36 wickets respectively.
Talking about the upcoming series, Harmanpreet said there is no rustiness in the side despite the prolonged time away from the game and they will look to regain their confidence with a good performance against South Africa.
Meanwhile, former captain Diana Edulji is surprised that teenage sensation Shafali Verma has not made the Indian women’s ODI squad for the upcoming series against South Africa after proving herself in the shortest format, including a crucial role in the team’s run to the T20 World Cup final last year.
Edulji, who was also a part of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators which ran the BCCI for 33 months, said the 17-year-old forms the best opening pair in the country alongside Smriti Mandhana.
Shafali not getting a chance in the ODI format was surprising to say the least.
Shafali is part of the T20 squad that will play three games against South Africa. (PTI)
