NEW DELHI: Ahead of the one-off Test against England at Lord’s, India have been forced into a late change after opener Pratika Rawal was ruled out with a knee injury. The Women’s Selection Committee has named Priya Punia as her replacement for the match, which begins on Friday.Pratika picked up a cut around her right knee while playing for India A in the second One-Day match against England A in Taunton. The injury needed stitches, and she has not recovered in time to feature in the Test. Head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed the setback before the match.“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.Priya earned the call-up after an impressive performance in the recently concluded three-match One-Day series against England A. She finished as India A’s highest run-scorer with 171 runs in three matches and played a key role in the team’s 2-1 series victory.Pratika had made her Test debut against Australia earlier this year, scoring 81 runs across two innings, including a half-century in the second innings.Speaking about her love for the longest format after that debut, Pratika had said:“Test cricket is the most beautiful format. Since childhood my father and coach have told me that performing well in this format is very important. When you are groomed in that manner, it naturally becomes your favourite format.”
India’s squad for the one-off Test against England:
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Varma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Nandini Sharma, Harleen Deol, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Sneh Rana and Priya Punia.
