Groin Injury And Covid Hampered My Preparation For England Tour: Harmanpreet Kaur

Indian T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has said that the groin injury he suffered back in March to go along with a subsequent Covid infection hampered his preparation for the England tour.

Harmanpreet Kaur suffered a Level-4 groin injury during the final ODI against South Africa back in March which ruled her out of the T20I series that followed.

Her rehab process also got affected after she contracted the deadly Wuhan virus in April.

“I am someone who likes to train everyday, who likes to work hard everyday but because of Covid-19 and injuries I didn’t get that much time to prepare,” Harmanpreet Kaur said in a virtual media conference on the eve of the first T20.

“These are not excuses but this is the reality which I faced. It’s a matter of one good innings and definitely I will carry on from there,” she added. ”It was a Level-4 injury in my groin on the right side but then it shifted to left side as well, while playing matches because ODI is a long format,” said Harmanpreet.

“Because of Covid-19, I did not get those practice games, there was not much time. Even NCA was closed at that time and I was doing my rehab through online video meetings and that time I contracted Covid,” she added.

‘I’ve understood, where and how to improve’- Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet Kaur has been mediocre in both ODI and T20I cricket in the past three years. The veteran cricketer has not scored an ODI ton since her match-winning 171 against Australia in the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup.

As far as T20Is are concerned, the skipper hasn’t managed a 50+ score since her belligerent ton against New Zealand in the 2018 T20 WC.

Kaur has endured five consecutive failures in the ongoing tour of England. While she managed 4 and 8 in the one-off Test, the ODI series saw her register scores of 1, 19, and 16. However, the middle-order batter has reckoned that she has understood what she needs to do to get success in English conditions.

The T20 skipper claimed that fans will get to see a different approach from her during the T20I series which will get underway on July 09 in Northampton.

”After the five innings I’ve understood, where and how to improve. You will definitely see a different approach from my side in the T20s. Right now, I’m feeling good, physically I’m fit but the only thing I need is some more time in the nets. That’s all I can say,” said Harmanpreet Kaur.

“During this time, I got enough time to train. Now I’m quite confident and I’m ready to play these three matches,” added Harmanpreet.

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