NEW DELHI: India were dealt a double blow when it was reported that India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was doubtful while all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar was ruled out of the Women's T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday.
Harmanpreet is racing against time to recover from high fever while Vastrakar was ruled out of the crucial game because of upper respiratory tract infection.
Harmanpreet, Vastrakar and left-arm spinner Radha Yadav had visited a local hospital on Wednesday for a thorough check-up, according to team sources.
The medical team is currently monitoring the situation and there is no clarity whether the Indian skipper will be fit enough for a high-pressure match, starting in abut four hours.
Meanwhile, the Event Technical Committee of the tournament has approved Sneh Rana as a replacement for Vastrakar in the Indian squad.
Rana, who is a spin bowling all-rounder, has played 47 international matches including 24 T20Is.
(With PTI inputs)
1/9:Women's T20 World Cup: India have task cut out against Australia
2/9:India up against nemesis Australia
<p>Having put up a patchy performance in the Women's T20 World Cup thus far, India will have to lift their game drastically against nemesis Australia in the first semifinal on Thursday.<br /><br /></p>ANI
3/9:India's perennial problem
<p>India, who have been among the top teams over the last five years but unable to win a major trophy, have expectedly made the semifinals of another ICC event.<br /><br /></p>Getty Images
4/9:Australia's dominance
<p>Defending champions Australia have won nine of the pair's last 10 meetings with the other game ending in a tie.<br /><br /></p>Getty Images
5/9:Will India end drought?
<p>Australia beat India in the previous T20 World Cup final at home and more recently at Commonwealth Games gold medal match in Birmingham last year.<br /><br /></p>Getty Images
6/9:India in group stage
<p>Though the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side won three of its four games in the group stage, not one performance could be called convincing including the game against Ireland. Their sole loss came against England.<br /><br /></p>AFP
7/9:India need to fix their issues
<p>Considering the way India have played so far, one can only hope that somehow they are able to fix all their issues for the big game, whether it is the inconsistent top-order, the inability to hit sixes barring Richa Ghosh or the high dot ball percentage.<br /><br /></p>AP
8/9:Shafali key for India
<p>Opener Shafali Verma made her international debut more than three years ago and though still a teenager, she has not been able to learn from her mistakes, mainly her inability to rotate the strike and her susceptibility against the short ball.<br /><br /></p>AFP
