Big blow for India: Opener Pratika Rawal ruled out of historic Lord’s Test against England; here’s why

Shafali Verma and Pratika Rawal talk between overs during the first day of the women’s test match between Australia and India at the WACA on March 6, 2026 in Perth, Australia. (Getty) India opener Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the one-off Test against England at Lord’s starting 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. During India A’s second 50-over match, she suffered a cut on her knee which required stitches.Priya Punia was added to the team as a replacement for Rawal.“Pratika was ruled out of the Test match due to her injury in the India A match. She has a cut on her knee which required some stitches. She was out for the Test match and Priya Punia was added to the squad,” Muzumdar said.This is Rawal’s second major injury setback 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 be a historic event as Lord’s hosts a women’s Test for the first time, 142 years after the first men’s Test.The Test follows India’s exit from the group stage in the recently concluded Women’s T20 World Cup. Muzumdar admitted the campaign was disappointing but said the team has moved on and is now fully focused on the red-ball challenge.“To be honest, it was very mixed. We had to recover from the loss. We were definitely disappointed. We didn’t have the best of World Cups. But having said that, the character of the team had to come out and we have to get out of this phase and enter the preparation for the Test match earlier.”“I think we’ve done that. We’ve had five really good days of preparation at Wormsley Cricket Club, a beautiful ground, just the perfect environment to prepare and then here at Lord’s. So I think the preparation has been good and like I said we’re excited to be here at Lord’s.”