Harmanpreet Kaur ruled out of Australia pink-ball Test

INDIA captain Mithali Raj on Wednesday (29) confirmed that ace batter Harmanpreet Kaur has been ruled out of the pink-ball Test against Australia starting at the Metricon Stadium in Queensland on Thursday (30) due to injury. This will be the first time that India women will play a Test under lights.

“I think the first session we had with the pink ball was yesterday. Yes, everybody had a different experience because we are not used to the pink ball, it does move around quite a bit. I think that is the pretty much first impression we got with the pink ball,” Raj said in a virtual press conference.

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“We are quite pleased with the way the three fast bowlers have bowled in the ODI series. Jhulan being the most experienced and she is helping the others -- Pooja Vastrakar and Meghna. I think we do have some quality seamers in Meghna and Pooja, we do have Shikha Pandey also. I think it is a good pace department that we now have in the side,” the veteran batter told Asian News International.

When asked about the update on Kaur who had missed the ODI series, Mithali said: “She is ruled out for the Test match.” Kaur has played in three Tests since her debut in 2014, scoring 38 runs at an average of 7.60. The right-handed batter, however, is a more prominent name in the limited-over formats, having scored more than 2,000 runs in both ODIs and T20Is.

“Definitely, the most significant thing is that we had two Tests this year. We played one in England and now we are playing against Australia. If this becomes a regular feature in bilateral series, then women’s cricket will thrive. I get this feedback most of the time, even today’s players who play in different leagues, they also love to play the longer format, if it becomes a regular thing, it will be great for women’s cricket,” Raj said when asked how important is pink-ball Test for women’s cricket.

The India men’s team played its first day-night Test match in Australia last December and lost the game by 8 wickets despite taking a lead in the first innings.