Pratika Rawal, the opening batter of the Indian women team, has been disqualified to play at the ICC Women World Cup 2025 following ankle injury she sustained in the final league game against Bangladesh on Sunday, October 26, 2020 at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. The loss of the 25 year old is an immense setback to India before they face Australia in the semi-final match.
During the rainy match against the boundary ropes, Pratika Rawal sustained an injury in the process of fielding. She made a clumsy effort to halt a boundary and fell down, and was observed to be in an evident agony. The medics rushed to her point with haste and got her off the ground. She never made any further contribution to the game.
Rawal also had scans after the match in order to determine the severity of her injury. These reports proved that the damage was severe enough to make her out of action at least over the coming weeks and this disqualified her of the tournament. This is a big blow to India bearing in mind that she has been performing well in the competition.
Rawal has been one of India’s most consistent performers in recent times. She scored her maiden World Cup hundred in the previous match against New Zealand and had been among the top run-scorers in the tournament. The young opener also became the joint-fastest player to reach 1000 runs in women’s ODIs and was close to completing 1000 runs in a calendar year.
India Monitor Richa Ghosh’s Fitness After Rain-Hit Match Against Bangladesh
Meanwhile, the Indian team is also keeping a close watch on wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh’s fitness. She injured her finger during the game against New Zealand and was rested for the Bangladesh clash. In her absence, Uma Chetry made her debut behind the stumps.
The rain-hit match against Bangladesh was disrupted several times. The first delay came around toss time and lasted almost two hours. After just 12.2 overs of play, heavy rain returned, leading to another delay of over two hours. The match was eventually reduced to 27 overs per side.
Despite the DY Patil Stadium having an efficient drainage system, only the pitch and main square were covered during the rain breaks. This left several areas of the outfield wet and slippery. Rawal’s injury happened when she lost her footing on the damp surface near deep mid-wicket while trying to stop a boundary.
