Why did Kranti Gaud and Renuka Singh miss IND-W vs SA-W clash of Women’s T20 World Cup 2026?
Karanti Gaud played last match, while Renuka Singh missed both games for India.
The Indian Women’s Cricket Team are playing their third game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, where they are clashing with South Africa, in Old Trafford, Manchester. India have started their campaign on a high note, with wins in their first two matches, meanwhile, South Africa have won only one of their two games.
Harmanpreet Kaur and Laura Wolvaardt walked out for the toss. Kaur won and opted to bat first in this high octane clash of Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. She talked about putting the runs on the board and then defending the total.
Talking about the changes in the side, the skipper mentioned two. Prema Rawat makes her debut for India, coming in place injured Shreyanka Patil; and Arundhati Reddy replaced Kranti Gaud.
Kranti Gaud featured in the first two games for India, meanwhile Renuka Singh is yet to play her first game this season.
Why is Kranti Gaud not playing IND-W vs SA-W clash of Women’s T20 World Cup 2026?
The right-arm medium pacer played both of India’s previous fixtures, against Pakistan and Netherlands. However, she did not find any success with the ball, remaining wicketless. One positive was her economical bowling. Her lack of wickets could be a reason for her missing out today.
The Captain had talked about picking early wickets in the powerplay, and the Indian pacers had failed to do that in the two games. It was only after Nandni Sharma was included, that an Indian pacer claimed a wicket in the tournament.
Why is Renuka Singh not playing IND-W vs SA-W clash?
Renuka Singh is yet to feature in the tournament. She was a part of theT20I series against South Africa earlier this year, where she managed to pick only two wickets across four games. Moreover, her economy was not upto the mark.
In the WPL 2026 as well, Renuka managed 7 wickets in 9 games. India have trusted Nandni Sharma and Arundhati Reddy to do the job for the team.
Moreover, India have gone with only two pacers in all three matches so far, which highlights the game plan they are looking at. They have trusted having a spin-bowling heavy attack in their line-up and the spinners have been paying them off well so far.
Additionally, the pitch at Old Trafford is traditionally known to aid the spinners more. The two T20 World Cup games that happened here also saw spinners coming to the rescue of their teams, and a total of 17 wickets were picked in those two games by them.
India’s match against South Africa is a crucial one, since a victory in this will smoothen the Semi-Final road and will put the Women in Blue in a comfortable position in the tournament.
Why is Kranti Gaud not playing against South Africa?
Kranti Gaud has been rested against South Africa, as she was wicketless in the first two games, and Arundhati Reddy has replaced her in the side.
Why is Renuka Singh not playing against South Africa?
Renuka Singh is not playing against South Africa because India have fielded only two pacers.
For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.
Cricket runs in the blood of Indians — and that’s something she truly believes in. A law student with a lifelong connection to the game, she has followed cricket passionately since his school days. Like countless young fans, she first experienced the sport on the field before deepening his understanding through constant watching, reading, and conversations around the game. Writing became a natural extension of that passion, bringing a “Pavilion Perspective” to his work — capturing how fans experience matches through their own lens.