Big blow for India Women; Pratika Rawal ruled out of Lord's Test against England due to injury
(Courtesy : BCCI)
Pratika Rawal sustained a knee injury while playing for India A recently.
India Women are set to clash with England Women in a one-off test match. The encounter will commence on July 10 at Lord’s, in which the Harmapreet Kaur & Co. will aim for a comeback after a dismal show in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
India Women could not reach the semi-finals of the tournament. On the other hand, England finished as runners-up after losing the final to Australia. Now, both India and England are set to resume their multi-format campaign, which also witnessed three T20Is last month.
Notably, India and England were scheduled to play a three-match T20I series ahead of the World Cup and a one-off test after the tournament. The Women in Blue tasted a 1-2 defeat in the T20I series.
Although India Women are set for a comeback, they have suffered a big blow as opening batter Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the one-off test. She sustained a knee injury earlier this month while playing for India A.
Priya Punia replaced injured Pratika Rawal in India’s squad
Speaking to reporters, India Women Head Coach Amol Muzumdar stated that Pratika had sustained a cut on her knee and required stitches. As a result, she has been ruled out of the test match against England. Moreover, Priya Punia replaced her in the squad.
“Pratika has been ruled out of the Test match due to her injury in the India A match. She has got a cut on her knee which required some stitches. She is out for the Test match and Priya Punia has been added into the squad,” said Mujumdar.
Pratika also had bad luck during last year’s Women’s ODI World Cup. As an opener, she did a wonderful job in the league stage but was ruled out ahead of the semi-finals due to an ankle injury. Later, she was replaced by Shafali Varma in the squad.
Meanwhile, Priya has never played any test match for India. She made her international debut in 2019 but has only featured in 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is so far. The 29-year-old last played for India Women in an ODI against Australia in August 2024.
Why is Pratika Rawal ruled out of the ENG vs IND one-off test?
She has been ruled out of the test match due to a knee injury.
Who has replaced Pratika Rawal in India’s squad for the one-off test against England?
Priya Punia replaced Pratika in the squad.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.