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Indian opener Pratika Rawal seems to have unfortunately missed out on a winner’s medal from the 2025 Women’s World Cup, despite being the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament. The right-hander was ruled out of the tournament with a serious ankle injury suffered in the final group stage match against Bangladesh. Her ankle got stuck in the wet outfield, and she had to be helped out of the pitch in a match that couldn’t even be completed due to rain. India didn’t have any backup openers available in the first 15 and had to call up Shafali Verma, who officially replaced Rawal in the squad. Shafali won the Player of the Match in the final, top-scoring with 87 and taking two wickets with her part-time spin in the second innings. After India won the match by five wickets, 15 squad members were called up on the stage to receive their medals. Shafali was one of them, but Rawal wasn’t, likely because ICC’s Event Technical Committee had approved the replacement, meaning that the latter was no longer officially a part of the squad. “The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 has approved Shafali Verma as a replacement for Pratika Rawal in the India squad. Verma was named as a replacement after Rawal was ruled out after sustaining an injury to her right ankle while fielding in the league match against Bangladesh on Sunday. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad,” the ICC statement had said at the time. Her case is similar to Jason Gillespie, who did not get a winner’s medal at the 2003 Men’s World Cup because he was ruled out due to injury in the middle of the tournament. The Indian team made sure to include Rawal in the celebrations. She was in a wheelchair but was taken up to the stage and also did the victory lap. “Injuries are part and parcel of the game,” she said after the match. “I’m very happy that I was a part of this team, this winning team. I just love this team. I can’t express my feelings towards this team. I’m very happy that we actually made it. We’re the first team who has won the World Cup in so long and the whole of India deserves this. To be very honest, it was very difficult for me to sit down and watch the match because it’s actually very difficult. It’s very easy to play inside rather than watching from the outside. But seeing this energy, seeing this environment, it just gave me goosebumps. Whenever there was a wicket, whenever there was a sixer, you know, you can see the energy. It’s amazing.”
