Pratika Rawal ruled out of Lord's Test against England with knee injury
Pratika Rawal (Source: BCCI Women)
Published - 08 Jul 2026, 05:50 PM• Read time - 2 mins
India women’s batter Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the upcoming one-off Test against England, set to be played at Lord’s, beginning on July 10. Rawal sustained an injury while fielding during the recent second one-day fixture against England A in Taunton. Later, she also didn't come out to bat in India A's chase of 300.
Rawal has played one Test in her career so far in Perth earlier this year in March against Australia. Priya Punia has been added as her injury replacement in the India squad. She's yet to make her Test debut, but is fresh from back-to-back half-centuries for India A against England A.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed that Pratika Rawal had sustained a cut on her knee, which required some stitches ahead of the match and revealed that Punia has been added as a replacement.
She will be in a three-way race for the number three spot alongside Harleen Deol and Yastika Bhatia, where Rawal batted against Australia in Perth and scored 63 in the second innings as India eventually lost by ten wickets.
The knee injury is the latest setback in Rawal's young career after she played a key role in India's maiden Women's World Cup triumph on home soil last November.
However, her campaign ended on a sour note after she twisted her ankle while fielding against Bangladesh in India's final league match, ruling her out of both the semi-final and final. The injury also forced her to miss the subsequent WPL season with UP Warriorz.
Lord's to host maiden women's Test
Meanwhile, the England vs India one-off Test will be a momentous occasion as it will be the first-ever women’s Test being played at historic Lord’s.
After being knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the group stage itself following a loss to Australia, the Indian team had a five-day break. They later underwent a five-day preparation camp in Wormsley in the lead-up to the Test.
On the other hand, England were thrashed by 7 wickets in the final against Australia at the same venue, who clinched their seventh Women’s T20 World Cup title.