Big blow for India: Opener ruled out of historic Lord's Test vs England; here's why
Shafali Verma and Pratika Rawal talk between overs during day one of the Women's Test Match between Australia and India at the WACA ground on
Shafali Verma and Pratika Rawal talk between overs during day one of the Women's Test Match between Australia and India at the WACA ground on March 06, 2026 in Perth, Australia. (Getty) India opener Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the one-off Test against England at Lord's, which begins on Friday, after suffering a knee injury.Head coach Amol Muzumdar said Rawal picked up the injury while playing for India A against England A in Taunton earlier this month. She suffered a cut on her knee during India A's second 50-over match, which required stitches.Priya Punia has been added to the squad as Rawal's replacement."Pratika has been ruled out of the Test match due to her injury in the India A match.
She has got a cut on her knee which required some stitches. She is out for the Test match and Priya Punia has been added into the squad," said Muzumdar.This is the second major injury setback for Rawal in recent times. During last year's Women's ODI World Cup at home, she was forced to withdraw from the tournament after twisting her ankle. Rawal made her Test debut against Australia earlier this year.The upcoming match will also mark a historic occasion, with Lord's hosting a women's Test for the first time, 142 years after staging its first men's Test.The Test follows India's group-stage exit at the recently concluded Women's T20 World Cup.Muzumdar admitted the campaign had been disappointing but said the team had moved on and was now fully focused on the red-ball challenge.“To be honest, it has been a mixed bag.
We had to recover from the loss. We were disappointed for sure. We didn't have the best of World Cups. But having said that, the character of the team had to come out and we need to get out of that phase and come into the test match preparation sooner."“I guess
we have managed to do that. We had five really good days of prep at the Wormsley Cricket Club, a beautiful ground, just a perfect setting for the preparation and then here at Lord’s. So I guess the preparation has been good and as I said, excited to be here at Lord’s.”
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