Shefali Verma will replace Pratika, Mandhana will partner in the semi-finals against Australia

The Indian women's team has suffered a major setback ahead of the semi-final match against Australia on Thursday, October 30th. Star opener Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Shefali Verma has been included in the squad in her place. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has also approved her inclusion.

How did Pratika get injured?

Pratika was injured while taking a catch in the final league stage match against Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, forcing her to leave the field. A BCCI source told news agency PTI, "The way she fell makes it clear that she will not be available for the knockout matches. This is extremely unfortunate." The incident occurred in the 21st over of Bangladesh's innings. Sharmin Akhtar played a shot towards midwicket off Deepti Sharma's bowling. Rawal ran to her left to stop the ball, but her foot suddenly slipped and her ankle twisted. Moaning in pain, Rawal fell to the ground. She was then helped off the field by the physio.

In the match against Bangladesh, when Pratika did not come out to bat, Smriti Mandhana opened the innings with Amanjot Kaur. In the rain-affected match, India batted for 8.4 overs, in which Amanjot scored an unbeaten 15 runs. The match was abandoned due to rain.

Shefali included in the team

Shefali Verma has been approved to replace Pratika in the team. The 21-year-old batsman has an excellent record in ODIs. She has scored 644 runs in 29 matches so far, with the help of four half-centuries. Her best performance in this format is 71*. Shefali last played an ODI a year ago against New Zealand. She had not been part of the team since then. Now once again he is ready to return to the field.