Big blow for India Women! Pratika Rawal ruled out of Women’s World Cup 2025 due to injury; Shafali Verma named replacement.
India faced a massive setback before their semifinal clash against Australia to be played on October 30 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. After twisting her ankle in the final group-stage match against Bangladesh and when she was subsequently taken off the field, their opening batter, Pratika Rawal, has been ruled out of the ongoing Women’s World Cup 2025.
Rawal wasn’t available to bat in the chase that was eventually called off due to rain. India’s pace bowling all-rounder, Amanjot Kaur, took her place at the opening position for the Blue Brigade. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side finished the group stage of the tournament in the fourth position with three victories at a net run rate of +0.628.
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Shafali Verma replaces injured Pratika Rawal for India in Women’s World Cup 2025
Rawal sustained the injury on the final ball of the 21st over during Bangladesh’s innings. As Sharmin Akter attempted to pull Deepti Sharma across the line, Rawal sprinted in from cow corner to cut it off. However, her foot seemed to get caught in the turf, causing her ankle to twist as she tumbled to the ground. The ball raced away to the boundary, but the focus quickly shifted to Rawal, who was visibly in pain and clutching her ankle.
A stretcher was sent out to the ground. India’s physio helped Rawal to get up and hobbled off the field. She was taken to a hospital within the stadium premises soon.
Rawal is the second-highest run-getter of the tournament with 308 runs in six innings. She had a fabulous average of 51.33 and a strike rate of 77.77, thanks to one fifty and one century. India’s opening partnership has been incredibly strong in the World Cup 2025. Their openers have contributed the most runs (688) in seven matches. Rawal and her partner, Smriti Mandhana, registered an average of 57.33 at a strike rate of 88.54 for the opening partnership.
Shafali Verma has received a late call-up as a replacement for Rawal. She was originally not part of the campaign- either in the main 15-member squad or the reserves. But the 21-year-old will remain available for their semifinal clash against Australia. The selectors picked her over Tejal Hasabnis, who was among India’s reserves for the World Cup.
An ICC release stated that Shafali’s inclusion was approved by the Event Technical Committee. The committee includes Wasim Khan (Chairman), Gaurav Saxena (ICC General Manager), Abey Kuruvilla (BCCI Tournament Director), and Mel Jones (Independent Nominee).
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Shafali Verma expected to open with Smriti Mandhana in WWC 2025 semifinal against Australia
When the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) announced the World Cup squad, Shafali Verma was left out because of her inconsistency. The right-handed batter has scored 644 runs in 29 innings of WODIs at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 83.20. She hasn’t scored a century yet in her three-year ODI career.
Shafali hasn’t played ODIs for India since October 2024 but has been involved with India A in the 50-overs format. In September 2025, the opener smashed 52 against Australia A in Brisbane and 70 against New Zealand A in Bengaluru.
In December 2024, Shafali registered 527 runs in the domestic one-day event for Haryana. She recorded an average of 75.28 and a strike rate of 152.31, including the highest score of 197 off 115 balls against Bengal. She experienced a fabulous Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 season for the Delhi Capitals. The Rohtak-born finished as the fourth-leading run-getter of the competition with 304 runs at a strike rate of 152.76.
As Rawal’s replacement, Shafali could straightaway come into the playing XI against Australia. It will still be a critical situation for the hosts after they recorded 212 and 155-run opening stands against New Zealand and Australia, respectively.
If Shafali doesn’t make it into the XI, then India could open with Harleen Deol or Amanjot. The former has scored 169 runs in five innings of the World Cup 2025 at a strike rate of 75.11.
Uma Chetry, being another option for team India, opened in the warm-up clash against the Blackcaps and played the last league-stage game in place of Richa Ghosh. Jamimah Rodrigues, who has 381 WODI runs in 18 innings while opening the batting, is another option.
India’s semifinal clash against Australia in Navi Mumbai is under threat of rain. Heavy showers are predicted during the game. Fortunately, the ICC has already set a reserve day for the vital fixture. However, if no play is possible even after the reserve day, Australia (the higher-ranked team) will qualify for the final.
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