New Delhi: Top-order batter Pratika Rawal has been included in the Indian women’s cricket team for the upcoming 2026 Asian Games, to be played in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, as a replacement for injured Jemimah Rodrigues.
Jemimah, a key pillar in India’s middle order, continues to nurse a hamstring injury that she suffered during her stint with Southern Brave in The Hundred early last month. The injury had previously ruled Jemimah out of the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai as well.
When Pratika was announced as Jemimah’s replacement in the Asia Cup squad, there was no word on her replacement for the subsequent Asian Games. “Pratika will be travelling to Japan for the Asian Games as Jemimah’s replacement. Her name is there in the 15-member squad submitted for the Asian Games,” a source in the BCCI confirmed to IANS on Wednesday.
Pratika made her T20I debut in the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai and has been slotted into the crucial number three position by the Indian team management. In the league stage of the competition, Pratika has registered scores of 22, 10, and 4.
Her sudden call-up to the India T20I side for the Asia Cup came when she was preparing for a stint with Warwickshire in the One Day Cup in England. Before her recent T20I debut, Pratika had not played a competitive T20 game since November 2024, especially after a long ankle injury sustained during the match against Bangladesh at the Women’s ODI World Cup in 2025 keeping her on the sidelines for a long time. (IANS)
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