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Opener Pratika Rawal has reportedly been ruled out of India’s all-important semi-final against Australia in the 2025 Women’s World Cup on Wednesday, in a significant blow to the hosts. Rawal twisted her ankle while fielding against Bangladesh in the dead-rubber league stage match on Sunday, which was abandoned midway due to rain. She seemed in severe pain and had to be helped out of the field. Pictures from the moment in the 21st over at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai, showed her foot getting stuck and twisted badly in the turf as she overran the ball. The semi-final will be played after a gap of over two days, but it seems it would be too soon for her recovery. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not offered any updates apart from their initial assessment during the match. If Rawal is indeed ruled out, it’ll be a big headache for the Women in Blue, considering they didn’t bring a backup opener in their 15-member squad. Replacements are only available for players ruled out of the tournament, and hence, if India want to bring a replacement for Rawal from outside the squad for the semi-final, they’d have to rule her out from potentially playing in the final on Sunday, too. She’s the second-highest run-scorer so far, with 308 runs in six innings (one fewer than her partner and top-scorer, Smriti Mandhana), with a fifty and a century to her name already. The question now is who opens with Mandhana. India promoted all-rounder Amanjot Kaur to the position against Bangladesh, and she scored 15 (25) before rain interrupted. “The first option could be promoting number three, Harleen, since she’s often walked in early and is comfortable facing the new ball,” former India captain Mithali Raj said on JioStar. “Ideally, today was a great opportunity for Harleen to open and build that equation with Smriti, assuming Pratika might not be available. If Pratika is fit, the same batting line-up continues. But sending Amanjot to open was something I didn’t quite understand. Yes, she needed some time out in the middle, but perhaps she could’ve slotted in at number three instead of opening,” she added. “The other option is Uma Chetry, but if Richa Ghosh returns as wicketkeeper, then Uma might sit out.”
