Deepti Sharma was not part of India Women’s XI for the second T20I against Sri Lanka Women due to mild fever. The all-rounder was sent off as a precaution, with the team management deciding not to take any chances so early in the five-match series. Sneh Rana came into the side as her replacement. India captain Harmanpreet Kaur confirmed the development in the toss after winning it and opting to field first at the ACA VDCA Cricket Stadium. She said that Deepti is not well and added that the rest of the team will stick to the same approach that worked in the opening match.
Inside story behind India’s World Cup win: Shafali and Deepti reveal IMPACT of WPL
India entered the match with a 1-0 lead in the series after a convincing performance in the first T20I. The decision to drop Deepti was seen as a wise move, especially with several matches still to come and the all-rounder expected to play a key role later in the series when he was fully fit. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu said her team will field the same XI and stressed the need to bat with confidence and play more evenly than in the previous game. She admitted that Sri Lanka played too much behind the wicket in the opening match and will look to rectify that.Sri Lanka Women (Playing XI): Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (Captain), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Kaushani Nuthyangana (Goalkeeper), Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera, Kawya Gimhandi, ShashiniIndia Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Richa Ghosh (Goalkeeper), Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Arundhati Reddy, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani.
