INDIAN WOMEN TRAIN AFTER A YEAR AHEAD OF PROTEAS SERIES

LUCKNOW: Coming out of the six-day quarantine since arriving here last Thursday, Indian women cricketers finally got to train as a unit after a year, a two-hour session behind closed doors at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Stadium on Wednesday.

India women’s team last played a game in March 2020, in the final of the ICC World T20 against hosts Australia. Barring a three-team competition during IPL in the UAE, it has been a frustrating wait through the pandemic while the men’s team smoothly resumed its international fixtures.

The wait will end on Sunday when India begin a limitedovers series against South Africa with the first ODI. A sixday hard quarantine that ended on Wednesday means India, ranked No.2 in ODIS and No. 3 in T20IS, will start from scratch. There has been criticism of selection too. The ODI squad, led by Mithali Raj, will be without 17-year-old opening batter, Shafali Verma, who has been selected only for the T20s.

South Africa have arrived after beating Pakistan in both white-ball formats in Durban. Coach Hilton Moreeng said: “It’s our first tour of the Covid-19 era. We knew what to expect before we arrived…, all the players have now been exposed to bubble life, this being our second tour within a BSE.”

The Proteas last toured India in September and October 2019, losing the ODIS 3-0 and the T20s 3-1.