Injured Pooja Vastrakar misses out vs Pakistan, pacer Diana Baig rested. Courtesy: Getty Images

Women's T20 World Cup: Injured Pooja Vastrakar misses out, pacer Diana Baig rested

Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Pooja Vastrakar has replaced Sajeevan Sajana, who has already played nine T20Is for India. For Pakistan, leg-spinner Syeda Aroob Shah has replaced Diana Baig.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Pooja Vastrakar is recovering from injury
  • All-rounder Sajeevan Sajana has replaced Vastrakar
  • Syeda Aroob Shah has come in place of Diana Baig

Fast-bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar missed out from India’s marquee clash of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 on Sunday, October 6 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that Vastrakar is recovering from an injury.

Another all-rounder, Sajeevan Sajana, who played for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), has replaced Vastrakar. After losing to New Zealand by 58 runs, Harmanpreet talked about making a comeback and playing positive cricket against India’s arch-rivals.

“We'll have to move forward with a positive approach, it's always how you bounce back and we've spoken about it. We will go out there and play some positive cricket,” Harmanpreet said.

For Pakistan, fast bowler Diana Baig missed after he sustained a calf injury in the match against Sri Lanka in Sharjah. 20-year-old leg-spinner Syeda Aroob Shah has replaced Baig, who also missed the 2023 edition of the mega event on South African soil.

Baig bowled only a solitary delivery against Sri Lanka. In her run-up to the second ball, Baig felt some discomfort. Despite getting treatment, she failed to continue and had to be carried off the park.

Skipper Fatima Sana said that missing Baig is a ‘huge blow’, but also sounded confident that the other players are more than capable of stepping up.

“It's a big blow, but we've players who can do well in her absence,” Fatima said after Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first.

Playing XI for India vs Pakistan

India

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Sajeevan Sajana, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh

Pakistan

Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Sidra Amin, Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Omaima Sohail, Fatima Sana (capt), Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Syeda Aroob Shah, Sadia Iqbal