Pratika Rawal ruled out of World Cup 2025 with ankle fracture; Shafali Verma named as replacement

Team India have been dealt a blow ahead of their semi-final match-up against Australia as star opener, Pratika Rawal, has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup.

Rawal, who has been phenomenal throughout the tournament and the calendar year as well, will not play any further part in the fray after she suffered a hairline fracture to her ankle in the washed away match-up against Bangladesh.

Rawal twisted her ankle while trying to field a ball against Bangladesh in the 21st over. Unfortunately, due to the slippery nature of the field, she was caught in uncharted territory as she immediately went down, clutching onto her ankle, contorting in agony.

Amanjot Kaur stepped up in place of Rawal to open the innings for India but the Rain Gods’ rude interruption didn’t allow a result in the fixture. As confirmed by ICC, Shafali Verma will be replacing Rawal for the rest of the tournament, a move that can have some serious repercussions for the Women in Blue as they prepare for the mighty semi-final challenge against the Aussies.

Rawal is the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament with a tally of 308 runs, 57 adrift of the leading run-scorer, Smriti Mandhana. She also registered an average of 51.33 while conjuring an imperative ton against New Zealand in what was a do-or-die clash for the Women in Blue.

It has been a while since the WODI circuit has witnessed Shafali Verma in action.

However, in the shortest format of the game, Verma showed brilliance against England, becoming the second-highest run-getter in the series and In 29 innings, the dynamic right-hander has hit 644 runs at an average of 23.

India will be hoping for another one of her blizzards to rock the Aussies on Thursday in Navi Mumbai.