Pratika

India have called up batter Shafali Verma in place of the injured Pratika Rawal for their Women’s World Cup semi-final against Australia.

Rawal sustained an ankle injury while fielding during India’s final group game against Bangladesh on Sunday.

The 25-year-old opener tried to stop a boundary on the slippery outfield at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and was later unable to bat in the match.

Rawal is the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer with 308 in six innings at 51.33, behind only fellow India opening batter Smriti Mandhana.

India’s request to replace Rawal in their squad with Verma was approved by the International Cricket Council’s event technical committee for the tournament.

Verma has not played a one-day international for India since October 2024 but has played 50-over cricket for India A in recent months.

The 21-year-old was left out of India’s original squad for the World Cup but will now come into contention for a place against Australia in the semi-final showdown on 30 October.

Amanjot Kaur opened against Bangladesh after Rawal limped out while Uma Chetry and Jemimah Rodrigues are other potential partners for Mandhana at the top of the order.

As Pratika moved up through the age groups, she caught the attention of former India player Deepti Dhyani, who became her coach.

“I saw her play a few drives and realised she had the capabilities. Most state-level players have talent; the challenge is transforming it for professional cricket. That’s where we as coaches step in,” Deepti says.

“She stood out because whenever you asked her to work on something, she would tick every box, even if you weren’t watching.”

Deepti also emphasised fitness, something Pratika had embraced since childhood.

“We often think gym work means building bulky muscles, but it’s really about staying injury-free. Thankfully, Pratika understood that well and worked on her fitness seriously,” says Deepti.

Even as cricket became her focus, Pratika didn’t neglect her studies. She pursued a degree in psychology, which helped her understand the mental side of the game.

“She was in ninth standard when she got interested in psychology, so she decided to study it in college,” says her father.

“In cricket, psychology plays a major role. When you’re batting, trying to read what a bowler is thinking or why they’ve set a certain field, it helps you dissect situations better. It’s been really useful for her.”

It’s that out-of-the-box thinking which gives Pratika a useful skill off the field: she can solve a Rubik’s cube.

“It has an algorithm to it,” Pratika said, in a social media video. “The centre pieces don’t move, so you need to move everything around those.”

Easy, or so Pratika makes it seem.