Rawal won’t play the first Women’s Test ever staged at Lord’s, and her replacement has already proven she belongs. A stitched-up knee sustained fielding for India A in Taunton has cost the opener her second Test cap, handing Priya Punia an unexpected route into the senior side. Punia arrives on the back of 171 runs at an average of 57 in the same England tour, including two half-centuries. The timing stings, since Rawal’s No.3 spot from Perth is up for grabs again.
A Cut That Cost More Than Stitches
The injury itself sounds almost routine until you see the timeline. Fielding during India Women’s A’s second ODI against England Women’s A at Taunton, Rawal took a blow that opened a deep cut on her knee, needing multiple stitches. Head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed the setback in his pre-match press conference on July 8, and the impact was immediate. Rawal didn’t come out to bat as India A chased 300 in that same match.
This wasn’t a freak, one-off knock either. It’s the second serious injury to disrupt her rise in under a year, and both have arrived at moments when she was playing some of the best cricket of her career. For a batter still building a Test résumé, that pattern is starting to look less like bad luck and more like a genuine fitness concern selectors will need to track.
Pratika Rawal injury Lord’s Test 2026
Rewind to October 2025 and the parallel is uncanny. Rawal twisted her right ankle and knee fielding at deep midwicket during the World Cup group match against Bangladesh, carried off the field with her foot stuck in the turf. She’d been the tournament’s second-highest scorer at that point, 308 runs at an average of 51.33, with a maiden World Cup century against New Zealand still fresh. She missed the semi-final and the final. India won the trophy anyway, but Rawal watched both from the sidelines.
Her Test bow came five months later in Perth, 63 off 137 balls in a losing cause against Australia, top-scoring for India as the last wicket to fall. That knock suggested a player ready to anchor the middle order for years. Instead, she heads into an away leg of the summer nursing another setback, and the sport’s newest showpiece Test venue will have to wait to see her bat.
Priya Punia Earns Her Shot At No.3
Punia isn’t a stranger to pressure. Her international résumé, 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is, has been thin since December 2024, but her performances on this England A tour make the call-up feel earned rather than convenient. Twenty-three runs in the series opener at Hove built into an 87 in Taunton and a 61 off 68 balls, studded with six fours, in the third match at the same venue. Three innings, 171 runs, an average of 57.00, and back-to-back half-centuries.
None of that guarantees a Test debut. But it does explain why the BCCI moved so quickly to name her as Rawal’s replacement rather than reshuffling the existing squad. At 29, with a memorable 75 not out on ODI debut back in 2019 already behind her, Punia has waited a long time for a door like this one to open.
The Battle For India’s Number Three Spot
Rawal batted at three in Perth, and that slot is now genuinely contested. Reports describe a three-way fight between Punia, Harleen Deol and Yastika Bhatia, with the head coach yet to confirm his final eleven. Two different 15-player squad lists have circulated, one via ESPNcricinfo and one via India.com, and while both include Punia as the replacement, they disagree on several fringe names, a reminder that this touring party was assembled in a hurry.
What’s certain is the occasion itself. This is India Women’s first-ever Test at Lord’s, arriving straight off a T20 World Cup exit and a five-day prep camp at Wormsley. The Pratika Rawal injury Lord’s Test 2026 storyline was supposed to be about a young opener consolidating her place in the middle order. Instead, it’s become an audition for whoever replaces her, and Punia has given herself every chance of making it permanent.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.