Women's T20 WC: Harmanpreet doubtful; Vastrakar out of semis

Skipper and batting mainstay Harmanpreet Kaur is racing against time to recover from high fever ahead of India's T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia in Thursday, while all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar has been ruled out of the the match because of upper respiratory tract infection.

Harmanpreet, Vastrakar and left-arm spinner Radha Yadav had visited a local hospital in Cape Town 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.

The India vs Australia women’s T20 World Cup semi-final will get underway at 6.30pm IST at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.