In some unfortunate news, a report by ESPNcricinfo has confirmed that Indian pacer, Mansi Joshi, has tested positive for COVID-19. The 27-year old was recently announced as a part of the IPL Velocity, led by Mithali Raj, in the third edition of IPL Women’s Challenge. Joshi was scheduled to take a flight to Mumbai, but as it appears, she will be in quarantine at her residence in Dehradun.
Mansi Joshi made her ODI Debut for India in November 2016. She has played 11 ODIs and 8 T20Is so far. The ESPNcricinfo report confirmed that the speedster was tested on 10th October, when she reported positive and has been in quarantine ever since. Unfortunately, this means that Joshi will not recover in time for the Women’s T20 Challenge, which kicks off from the 4th of November. The report went on to state that the 27-year old will be replaced by the uncapped fellow pacer, Meghna Singh. This will be 26-year old Singh’s first WIPL and would be looking to make an immediate impact.
JUST IN:
Meghna Singh replaces Mansi Joshi for the upcoming Women’s T20 Challenge after Mansi tested positive for COVID19. #WomensT20Challenge pic.twitter.com/uQFRtJ6R0D
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 16, 2020
This year’s WIPL will see a repeat of last year’s format with 3 teams – Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity, facing off against each other in 3 group stage matches. This will be followed by the all-important finals, where the top 2 will contest for the coveted WIPL trophy. The first match will see defending champions, Supernovas, face off against last season’s finalists, Velocity. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas will be the team to beat, having won the WIPL on both the previous occasions.
JUST IN:
Meghna Singh replaces Mansi Joshi for the upcoming Women’s T20 Challenge after Mansi tested positive for COVID19. #WomensT20Challenge pic.twitter.com/uQFRtJ6R0D
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 16, 2020
The women’s contingent is currently making their way to Mumbai, where they will observe a 9-day quarantine. During this time, they will be tested on three separate occasions – on day’s one, three and five. Indian women were last seen in action at the T20 World Cup finals against Australia in March, with no match practice since. However, BCCI will be organising a training camp for the 3 teams at their quarantine venue, where each team will get an opportunity to conduct at least four training sessions. This year’s Women’s Challenge brings us closer and closer to the much-awaited full season of a Women’s IPL. If previous tournaments are anything to go by, this season’s Women’s Challenge promises to be a thrilling spectacle.
Before concluding, we, at Female Cricket, wish the speediest of recoveries to our speedster and hope to see her on the field soon.
Updated squads for Women’s T20 Challenge
Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues (vice-capt), Chamari Atapattu, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shashikala Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Ayushi Soni, Ayabonga Khaka, Muskan Malik
Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (capt), Deepti Sharma (vice-capt), Punam Raut, Richa Ghosh, D. Hemalatha, Nuzhat Parween (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Jhulan Goswami, Simran Dil Bahadur, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Natthakan Chantham, Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam
Velocity: Mithali Raj (capt), Veda Krishnamurthy (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Sushma Verma (wk), Ekta Bisht, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya, Sushree Dibyadarshini, Manali Dakshini, Leigh Kasperek, Danielle Wyatt, Sune Luus, Jahanara Alam, M Anagha, Meghna Singh
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