New Delhi: Ahead of the one-off Test against England at Lord’s, India were forced to make final changes after opener Pratika Rawal was ruled out with a knee injury. The women’s selection committee has appointed Priya Punia to replace her in the tournament which starts on Friday.Pratika injured her right knee in her second one-day match for India A against England A at Taunton. The injury required stitches and she did not recover in time to take the test. Head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed the setback before the game.“Pratika has been ruled out of the Test matches due to an injury she sustained during the India A match. She injured her knee and required stitches. She will miss the Test matches and Priya Punia has been included in the squad,” Muzumdar said.Priya earned the call-up after his impressive performance in the recently concluded three-match one-day series against England A. She became India A’s highest run-scorer with 171 runs in three games and played a key role in the team’s 2-1 series win.Pratika made her debut against Australia earlier this year and scored 81 runs in two innings, including a half-century in the second innings.Talking about her love for the longest format after her debut, Pratika said:“Test cricket is the most beautiful format. My father and coaches told me from a young age that it is very important to perform well in this format. When you train in this way, it automatically becomes your favorite 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.
