Navi Mumbai, Jan 10: India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru pace-bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar has been ruled out for at least two weeks of the ongoing Women’s Premier League due to a hamstring injury.
The 26-year-old, who last played a competitive game in the T20 World Cup in October 2024, was brought for Rs 85 lakh during the Women’s Premier League auction in November last year and the WPL was supposed to be her comeback.
“Pooja Vastrakar was not available for selection (against Mumbai Indians),” the franchise’s head coach Malolan Rangarajan said after the team’s opening match here on Friday.
“Two weeks prior to her release from the CoE (Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru), she unfortunately tweaked her hamstring. The information that we have is that she will be there for two weeks more. Earlier, she was there (at the CoE) for her shoulder, now she has a hamstring issue. It’s a week by week process. So let’s see where she is at.”
RCB, riding on an all-round display by South African stalwart Nadine de Klerk, defeated defending champions Mumbai Indians by three wickets in a last-ball thriller on Friday.
In absence of Pooja, RCB handed the responsibility of bowling to new recruits – England left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, Arundhati Reddy and de Klerk as they managed to keep the opponents to 154-6. (PTI)
