How Yastika Bhatia battled back from ACL Injury to win a place in the Women’s T20 World Cup

India batsman Yastika Bhatia said she had to rebuild herself from scratch after suffering a career-threatening ACL injury, enduring months of painful rehabilitation before returning from a match-winning half-century against England in the first Women’s T20I on Thursday (May 28).

Yastika, who injured her left knee during India’s preparation camp for last year’s ODI World Cup in Visakhapatnam, marked her comeback with a smooth performance of 54 off 40 balls in India’s 38-run over. in the opening women’s T20I three-match series against England ahead of the World Cup, which starts on June 12.

“I think those who undergo ACL surgery know how difficult it is because the whole muscle is gone from that leg. You literally have to build everything from scratch,” Yastika said after the match, as quoted by PTI.

The left-hander admitted there were stages during his rehabilitation when progress seemed invisible. “After the surgery, the rehabilitation process was quite difficult. There were days when nothing was happening and no progress was visible. But I just showed up every day,” she said. Yastika Bhatia in action against England (Photo: X/@BCCIWomen)

The injury forced Yastik to miss India’s triumphant ODI World Cup campaign at home last year. Her last T20I appearance came against Bangladesh in April 2024while her last competitive appearance was during India A’s tour of Australia in August before an injury sidelined her for several months.

“After months I could finally see the improvement. The support system around me was beautiful… the Center of Excellence staff, family, friends, teammates like Jemmy (Jemimah Rodrigues), everyone kept checking on me. I’m very grateful… all’s well that ends well.”

BACK WITH THE DUST

Back in India colours, however, Yastika looked as if she had never been away. India, playing without skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who was rested, slipped to 7/2 in the opener with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma departing cheaply. Yastika came in under pressure and tied the innings with Jemimah Rodrigues. Yastika Bhatia wins praise for her match-defining knock (Snapshot from X)

From a confident drive on the offside to a catch from Sophie Ecclestone over wide long-on for a six, Yastika quickly settled in to bring up her fifty off just 31 balls. She and Jemimah teamed up and turned the match around 126-run means the third wicket from just 76 balls.

“The first thing Jemimah said to me was, ‘Let’s build a partnership and keep playing positive,'” Yastika recalled. “We were both batting well in the practice games and were in good touch going into the series. The plan was simple – track the ball, alternate, find gaps and capitalize later.”

Yastika was all praise for Jemimah who hit 69 off 40 balls and was named man of the match. India also found another bright spot in debutant pacer Nandini Sharma who impressed with figures of 3/34. India play England in two more T20Is before the start of the Women’s World Cup.

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Published on:

29 May 2026 15:14 IST