The 28-year-old has been a vital part for the Women in Blue in recent times.
Hours after being announced as the No.1 T20I bowler for the first time in her career, India all-rounder Deepti Sharma was not included in the playing XI for the hosts in the 2nd T20I against Sri Lanka. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur announced the decision at the toss, and reasoned that the all-rounder being unwell has resulted to the decision. All-rounder Sneh Rana has replaced Deepti in the playing XI.
The 28-year-old all-rounder is a vital asset to the Women in Blue, and performed well in the 1st T20I at the same venue. She bowled her full quota of four overs, bagging a wicket and giving away just 20 runs. Bowling tight lines has always been her strength, and she did executed that to perfection. That being said, her services with the bat were not required as the hosts cruised to victory on the back of a fine fifty by Jemimah Rodrigues.
Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss in the 2nd T20I and put the Sri Lankans in to bat. Sneh Rana, who will be replacing the all-rounder from Uttar Pradesh is a like-for-like replacement, and will be itching to take the field in the absence of Deepti. The Women in Blue were quite clinical with the ball in the 1st T20I, and will aim to replicate the same performance in the 2nd T20I of the series.
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The Women in Blue look well set in the shortest format of the game, having displayed a promising victory against their Asian counterparts in the 1st T20I. However, Deepti Sharma remains to be a vital cog in the wheel for their plans for the mega-event in 2026. With these matches, the Women in Blue are on the road to prepare for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be played in England.
The Indians will be high on hopes, after having conquered the 50-over World Cup recently. Winning the World Cup title had eluded the team for quite a while, and getting their hands on the trophy could just be that final push that the team required in order to gain the confidence to perform at the big stages. The Women in Blue do have some areas to work on.
And Deepti Sharma might be the solution to many of their issues, simply because of the skillset she brings to the table. In 130 matches, she has scored 1,100 runs with a highest score of 64. That being said, her strike-rate is what she will have to amp up ahead of the tournament. On the bowling front, she has picked up 148 wickets at an economy of 6.11, which is impressive.
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