The off-spinner Shreyanka Patil has been ruled out of the Women’s Asia Cup due to an injury. This announcement came on Saturday through the Asian Cricket Council. The media released it by announcing that the 21-year-old had suffered a fracture on the fourth finger of her left hand. This happened as a huge setback to the 21-year-old, who otherwise was integral to India’s team during the tournament.
Shreyanka played only the championship game with Pakistan and performed fine. For 3.2 overs, she gets 2 wickets for just 14 runs. She contributed considerably toward India’s dominant win. The India team had things mopped up in 14.2 overs, winning by seven wickets. Due to her injury, this game will be her last appearance in this Asia Cup.
Shreyanka Patil Out, Tanuja Kanwar In for Asia Cup
Tanuja Kanwar comes in as the injury replacement in the squad for Shreyanka. This 26-year-old left-arm spinner represents Gujarat Giants in WPL and Railways in domestic cricket. Though she may not have played for her national team as of now, her record in domestic competitions is pretty good. Shreyanka made her Indian team debut in December 2023 on the back of some fine performances in the WPL, where she is supposed to lead the bowling attack for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. She has taken 13 wickets in that edition, which is the highest by any bowler at an average of 12.07 and an economy rate of 7.3.
Shreyanka has played 12 T20Is for India and has gone wicketless in only two of those games. She’s also represented her country in three ODIs.Tanuja Kanwar has also made a mark for herself in WPL. The woman from Himachal Pradesh was picked up by Gujarat Giants in 2023 for INR 50 lakh. Before making it big in the WPL, Tanuja was an important domestic cricket player.
She returned figures of 3 for 26 in the One Day Trophy final while turning in quite a fine performance, besides her overall outstanding all-round performance in that entire tournament. She is capturing 18 wickets at an average of 11.16 and an economy rate of just 2.43 runs per over. These performances earned her a place in the WPL and now a call-up to the national team.
Tanuja Kanwar Steps In for Shreyanka Patil
Kanwar finished the 2024 WPL season with 10 wickets from eight matches at an average of 20.70 and an economy rate of 7.13. She is different in bowling—standing quite a distance behind the popping crease with left-arm spin, very varied. The next game for India in the women’s Asia Cup is against the UAE on Sunday in Dambulla. Thus, habituation to Shreyanka’s absence and the slotting of Tanuja into the scheme of things would have to be done early. If so, the next game assumes the importance of building momentum throughout the tournament.
Thus, even though Shreyanka Patil is out of action due to injury, she remains an important player for the future of Indian women’s cricket. She has just started her career, but her early performances have shown excellent potential. No doubt, she will wait anxiously to recover and come back onto the field. The experience that she has gathered in her fledgling career will turn out to be invaluable in the years ahead as she learns the ropes to become a vital force for success on her side’s behalf.
This call-up is big for Tanuja Kanwar to prove her talent at the international level. She has a platform in the women’s Asia Cup, and there she will get an opportunity to prove herself against the best of teams. She’ll do well; more doors will open up in international cricket.
The Women’s Asia Cup has generally been a keenly fought tournament and has been a talent showcase for many talented players. Much focus will thus be on how far India goes, all the more so because of the recent changes in the squad due to injuries. One will look forward to whether the team consolidates well or not and whether players like Tanuja Kanwar make the best use of this opportunity.
