In the latest development, India women’s team opener Pratika Raval has been ruled out of the remaining matches of the ICC ODI World Cup 2025 after suffering a serious injury. Shafali Verma, who was not part of the squad or reserves, has been named as her replacement ahead of the semi-final clash against Australia.
Pratika suffered a serious ankle injury while attempting to stop a second run on a damp outfield during the final league match against Bangladesh. She twisted her ankle and fell awkwardly. Despite being stretchered, the opener decided to leave the field with the help of his teammates.
Shafali Verma has been included in place of Pratika Raval in India’s squad for the remainder of the World Cup.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday confirmed that Pratika Raval has been ruled out of the Women’s Cricket World Cup. Shafali Verma has been included in the team in her place before the semi-final match against defending champions Australia.
“Indian opening batsman Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 due to an ankle injury she sustained while fielding near the ropes while attempting to block a boundary on the last ball of the 21st over,” the ICC said in an official release.
“India have named Shafali Verma as her replacement for the big semi-final match against defending champions Australia on Thursday, October 30,” the statement said.
Pratika Raval’s injury before the semi-final against Australia is a big blow for India.
Prateek Raval’s injury is a big blow for India before the semi-final match against Australia in Navi Mumbai on October 30. The opening batsman has been in excellent form throughout the tournament.
She is the second-highest run-scorer with 308 runs in seven matches at an average of 51.33 and a strike rate of 77.77. Raval has made several important performances, including a match-winning 75 against Australia in Visakhapatnam and a match-winning 122 against New Zealand in Navi Mumbai.
His partnership with Smriti Mandhana has been equally important to India’s success. The duo have consistently given solid starts, including two record partnerships, a 212-run partnership against New Zealand and a 155-run opening partnership against Australia.
Apart from his batting contributions, Raval also made an impact with the ball and took one wicket for 19 runs in the match against New Zealand. His absence will be felt as India prepare for their high-stakes encounter against Australia.
Will Shafali Verma be directly included in India’s playing eleven for the semi-finals?
The selectors chose Shafali Verma as a replacement for Pratika Raval in place of Tejal Hassebnis, who was the only reserve batsman in the team. Shafali has scored 644 runs in 29 ODIs at an average of 23.00 and a strike rate of 83.20, which includes four half-centuries.
She has not played an ODI for India since October 2024, but the 21-year-old has remained active in the 50-over format through India A and domestic cricket. He impressed with 52 against Australia A and 70 against New Zealand A.
The opening batsman also scored 527 runs at an average of 75.28 during the domestic one-day competition for Haryana. Notably, the team management will have to take a crucial decision on whether to bring Shafali straight into the XI against Australia or promote Harleen Deol to open the innings.
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