India’s off-spin bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma is fit and available for selection for the third T20I against Sri Lanka, head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed on the eve of the match.
Deepti missed the second T20I in Visakhapatnam, which India won by seven wickets, due to a mild fever. The BCCI medical team was closely monitoring her recovery. “Deepti is absolutely fine. She’s available and fit,” said Muzumdar in the pre-match press conference.
India haven’t yet tried out pacer Renuka Singh Thakur in the series, and Muzumdar attributed this to experimenting with different combinations. “For Renuka, again, we were looking at a different combination. Also trying out a few things, and she’s an integral part of this team, as you’ve known in the last two years. It’s just about trying out a few things within the group,” he explained.
Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored 69 not out and 26 in the games in Visakhapatnam, skipped the practice session as a precautionary measure. “Jemimah had a little bit of an issue, but I think she’s fine. She’s just resting today. The doctors and the physios are having a close look at her, monitoring her consistently. She should be fine. It’s just a mandatory rest that she wants. We’ll decide the playing XI on the morning of the game.”
This matchup will mark the first time India plays a women’s international game at the Greenfield International Stadium. Muzumdar expressed the team’s eagerness to assess their game plan for a series win at the venue. “We haven’t had the opportunity to have a look at the venue. We’ve just arrived, but I think we’re very happy to explore Trivandrum, and it’s a new venue for us. As far as I remember, this is the first time we’re playing an international women’s game here in Trivandrum. Very happy to be here in Trivandrum and nice to be here in God’s own country.”
“It’s not about challenges, it’s about just identifying or knowing the conditions and catering to them. It’s not constantly about challenges or ‘oh, we haven’t done this, so we’ll do this’. It’s just about whether we feel that bowling first is a good option, then bowling first is a good option, and if we feel that batting first could be a better option on this ground, then we will decide so,” he added.
“We’ll have a better idea of the ground and the pitches today. That’s the reason we are here for our nets session. We’ll get a fair idea of the pitch as well as the entire ground. We intend to spend a lot of time on the main ground, so we’ll get a fair idea after that, and we’ll decide accordingly,” he concluded.