Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will return to action against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Saturday in the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL) clash, head coach Charlotte Edwards said.
Harmanpreet missed Mumbai Indians clash against UP Warriorz on Wednesday due to a niggle. In Harmanpreet's absence, Nat Sciver-Brunt led the side as the reigning champions suffered a seven-wicket defeat at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
"Yeah, unfortunately Harman was not available for selection today (Wednesday). But she should be back for Saturday (against RCB), and I am really confident on that," said Edwards in the post-match press meet.
Mumbai Indians are placed second in the points table with four points while RCB are leading with four points and a better net run rate. After their first win of the season, UP Warriorz added two points to their name to take fourth place.
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Harmanpreet was not the only player to sit out of playing 11 as Shabnam Ismail also missed the match due to a niggle and was replaced by Issy Wong.
Updating on the pacer's fitness, Edwards said that Ismail is being monitored closely and is not in contention to play the next game.
"We're just waiting on Ismail. It shouldn't be too long. But obviously we don't want to kind of bring her back too early," she said.
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South African pacer Ismail is the second highest wicket-taker for Mumbai Indians with four wickets in the tournament after spinner Amelia Kerr's seven scalps from three games.
Harmanpreet's return will be a big boost for Mumbai Indians as she is the leading run-getter in WPL 2024 with 101 runs in two matches, including a fifty.
Meanwhile, UP Warrorz opener Vrinda Dinesh injured her shoulder during fielding and had a scan last night at a hospital.
"She is getting scanned in the hospital, as we are waiting for an update," said UP batter Kiran Navigre in the post-match press conference.
In the 14th over of Mumbai's innings, Vrinda went down on her right shoulder while attempting to stop the ball close to the boundary. She appeared to be in a lot of pain as she left the field with the team physio.