Pratika ruled out of World Cup, Shafali named as replacement

As if it isn’t already tough enough to take on an Australian side brimming with daggers in itsarmoury ina semifinal, India have also been thrown a spanner in the works. Opener Pratika Rawal was ruled out from the knockouts of the ICC Women's World Cup after the nasty fall in the co-hosts’ weather-abandoned match against Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Shafali Verma, whose spot Pratika took in India’s ODI setup, was approved as replacement by ICC’s event technical committee.

- Rutvick Mehta

Pratika Rawal (pic left) after her injury during the match against Bangladesh. Shreyas Iyer gets injured during the Sydney ODI. GETTY/REUTERS

(GETTY/REUTERS)

The jarring and twisting of Pratika’s rightankle ona rain-soaked DY Patil Stadium outfield appeared bad on first look, and the worst possibility from an Indian team viewpoint became apparent on Monday, two days ahead of the semifinal against the mighty defending champions.

The 25-year-old was in the midst of a breakthrough World Cup debut, hitting her peak form atthe business end. Her quality 122 in India’s penultimate group match against New Zealand on the same ground set the platform fora crucial victory, and made her the tournament's second-highest run scorer (308 runs, average 51.33).

Although her strike rate (77.77) was a point of contention, she played her part in forging a solid combination with the one above her on the top-scorers’ chart, Smriti Mandhana. The duo was involved in two of the tournament’s top five partnerships, one of them against Australia (155) in their group stage encounter.