Mandhana withdraws from The Hundred

Smriti Mandhana won't be available for Southern Brave's next two encounters, including the final. The stylish opener will return to India to spend some time with her family before flying to Australia. Meanwhile, Manchester Originals' Harmanpreet Kaur (quad injury) too will return back home.

Southern Brave have won six of their seven encounters so far and have already cemented their place in the final of The Hundred Women's Competition. Mandhana scored 167 runs in those seven games at an average of 27.83 and a strike rate of 133.60.

The left-hander from Mumbai got scores of 61* and 78 but didn't do much in the remaining five innings (0, 5, 3, 19 and 1). However, Mandhana smoked 78 off 52 deliveries in Southern Brave's last game against Welsh Fire on Wednesday.

"I would love to be able to stay with the team until the final but we've been away from home for a long time with more tours ahead. I'll be watching the team at Lord's and hoping they can continue our good form. It's been a fantastic competition to be involved in and I've really enjoyed it," Mandhana said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Manchester Originals have won only one of their six games so far. Harmanpreet started the tournament on a solid note, scoring 29, 49* and 26 in her first three innings. The right-handed dasher then suffered an injury and missed three games for Manchester.

India will begin the multi-format series against Australia with the three ODIs to be played on September 19, 22 and 24. India, who played a Test match after a gap of seven years against England in June, will play their maiden pink-ball Test at Perth from September 30. The tour will conclude with three T20Is scheduled for October 7,9 and 11.

The squads are yet to be announced but around 20-25 players are currently in Bangalore for a training camp. Mandhana and the other players who are currently competing in the Hundred are expected to join the camp next week.

Southern Brave have replaced Mandhana with Ireland’s Gaby Lewis.