Harmanpreet Kaur to miss India's first ODI against Australia

India’s vice-captain has been ruled out of Tuesday’s ODI with a thumb injury

Harmanpreet Kaur will miss India’s first ODI against Australia, scheduled for Tuesday, September 21 after sustaining a thumb injury.

India are in Australia for a multi-format series, starting with three ODIs in Mackay before a one-off Test match and three T20Is in Carrara.

Earlier in the summer, Kaur, India’s ODI vice-captain, cut short her stay with Manchester Originals in The Hundred after injuring her quadriceps.

A decision on her availability for the second ODI on September 24 will be taken in due course.

“"She was declared fit. She was selected for this tour but, unfortunately, some days back she got a hit on the thumb and she is not available for the first ODI," said head coach, Ramesh Powar. "Next ODI we will take a call according to her pain management and fitness management."

^{Harmanpreet Kaur batting for Manchester Originals in The Hundred}

In her absence, skipper Mithali Raj could reclaim the number-three spot in the batting order after spending 18 consecutive innings at number four. Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia or Puman Raut are among the front-runners to take Kaur’s place in the XI

"I've been quite flexible with my batting order whether it's number three or number four, but it all depends on the composition of the team," Raj said. "If we have a good middle order, then I push my order up, that's number three and if there's a little more inexperience in the middle order, then I push myself to number four. It all depends on the composition of the team, and now, with Harman out for the first ODI, I probably have to think about my order."

Commenting on Rodrigues, she continued: "She will be, and is, part of our thought process going forward," Powar said. "And, it's about combination. We're trying to find the right composition going towards the World Cup, so Jemi might miss out, Jemi might play, so we can't say that now. It's a three-ODI series, so we'll take it one game at a time."