Pratika has performed really well in Shafali's absence: Mandhana

India Women’s stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana opened up about Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur and Renuka Singh’s absence from the team for the three-match ODI series against Ireland Women, starting on January 10 (Friday) at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

Mandhana said regular skipper Harmanpreet and Renuka have been rested, while Shafali wasn’t considered because Pratika Rawal did well in her debut series against West Indies. In three games, the latter scored 134 runs at an average of 44.66. 

Meanwhile, Shafali also produced insane numbers in the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy. The right-handed opener smashed 527 runs at an average of 75.29 and a strike rate of 152.31 in seven encounters, including two tons and as many fifties.

“Harman is rested, and... that's very clear. In the last two or three ODI series, Shafali hasn’t been part of the squad, and Pratika has performed really well in her absence,” said Mandhana before the first ODI against Ireland.

“However, Shafali has scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket, so she’s definitely in the scheme of things. I’m really happy she went back and got those runs. But right now, we have to focus on what we have, not on what’s missing.

“Renuka and Harman have been really important members, and they are rested now. It gives an opportunity to a lot of young girls. I won’t reveal much about the playing XI. Whoever gets the opportunity, I am sure they will grab it with both hands.”

The Women in Blue were hammered in Australia but won both the T20I and ODI series against West Indies at home. 

“We had a good series against West Indies. 2-1 in the T20I series, 3-0 in the one-day series. Definitely, the last series gave us a lot of confidence and different batters at different times got runs, and especially against the West Indies our bowling attack was at point.”

All three ODIs will be played at the same venue on January 10, 12 and 15, respectively.