India have drafted Pratika Rawal into a 16-strong squad for next month’s three-match one-day series in Australia, slotting the opener between the ongoing T20Is and the solitary Test on the multi-format tour. The visitors lead the T20Is 1-0, and selectors want a settled top order before the Test in Perth.
Rawal has not played since 26 October, when an awkward slide against Bangladesh in the World Cup damaged her right knee and ankle. A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical note confirmed she has “completed her rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence and has fully recovered from her ankle injury”.
Head coach Amita Sharma welcomed the news, saying: “We’ve pushed her hard in rehab and she has pushed herself harder. Her return gives us flexibility at the top.” Captain Harmanpreet Kaur added, “Pratika brings calm and intent. That’s a rare mix.”
The 24-year-old debuted in December 2024 and made an immediate impact: 1110 runs in 23 innings at 50.45, striking at 82.83, with two hundreds and seven fifties. She averaged 61 at last year’s World Cup before the injury, her 122 against England in Mumbai underlining her value.
Shafali Verma, who stood in for Rawal during the World Cup and was Player of the Final for an 87 off 78 balls and two wickets, keeps her place. “Competition is healthy,” Shafali said. “If we both play, the side benefits; if one of us misses out, the other is ready.”
Rawal’s comeback arrives shortly after she earned a first central contract, albeit in Grade C. Former selector Mithali Raj thinks that grading could change quickly: “If she stacks runs in Australia, the contract tier will sort itself out.”
India’s selectors resisted the urge to rest seamers Renuka Thakur and Kashvee Gautam despite a heavy schedule, mindful of Australia’s hard, bouncy decks. Bowling coach Troy Cooley explained, “Fast bowlers need rhythm. Two white-ball matches, a red-ball game, then a break — that’s manageable.”
Squad for Australia ODIs
Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, N Shree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal.
The ODIs begin in Brisbane on 1 March, move to Adelaide and finish in Canberra. India claimed the last bilateral 2-1 at home, but Australia have not lost a women’s ODI series on their own soil since 2013. As Harmanpreet put it, “You don’t beat them in Australia by talking about it. You beat them by nailing the basics.”
