ICC Women's World Cup 2017: Australia unsure of Meg Lanning's fitness ahead of the semi-final against India

What's the story?

The Australia women team received a major blow ahead of their semi-final against India in the ICC Women's World Cup. Meg Lanning, the Australian skipper, is reportedly struggling to regain her fitness.

Jess Jonassen, Australian all-rounder commented, "She's working closely with the physios, the people that need to know (what Lanning's situation is) know what's going on."

Jonassen also said that the team is expecting Lanning to return to the squad before they lock horns with India in today's big match.

"She's not the No. 1 batter in the world for no reason. To have someone of her caliber that comes back into the side whenever she can and whenever she's fit enough, it's a real boost to us," she added.

In case you didn't know...

Meg suffered from an injury on her shoulder during the early stages of the tournament. She could not play against Pakistan and was benched during the match against South Africa. In her absence, Rachael Haynes assumed the responsibility of the skipper.

Despite being injured, Lanning has scored 328 runs at an average of 109.33 and is the leading run-scorer for her side.

The details

According to the reports, Lanning trained separately in a light session with the head coach, Matthew Mot. However, she did not take part in the warm-up games like the rest of her teammates.

What's next?

If Meg Lanning recovers completely and makes a comeback in the team, Haynes will have to hand back the captaincy to the former.

Author's take

Lanning is one of the most powerful assets for the Australian team. Although she could not participate in the last few matches, there is no denying that she has done full justice to her role as captain of the defending champions. It is essential for her to recover soon and return to the squad, especially in a crucial stage like this.

Having said that, one simply cannot ignore the good work done by Haynes at the helm of affairs. She was not a part of the playing XI but she did a wonderful job when she stepped into Lannings' shoes. Now, if the full-time skipper is brought back in the team, it will either send Haynes back to the bench or another player will be replaced.

It will be interesting to see what will be the call of the Australian team management with regard to the selection of players for the semi-finals.