Pratika Rawal suffered a freak injury during India's league stage clash against Bangladesh in the Women's ODI World Cup 2025. Rawal has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. Here are 3 players who can replace her and open with Smriti Mandhana at the top of the order.

India were dealt a major blow ahead of the Women's ODI World Cup semifinals as their star opener Pratika Rawal picked up a freak injury while fielding during the clash against Bangladesh. 

Rawal twisted her ankle and also hurt her knee while trying to save a boundary in the 21st over of the rain-curtailed 27-over per side clash in Navi Mumbai. As per a BCCI source, Rawal is out of the knockouts due to the injury. "The manner in which she fell, it became clear that she would not be available for the knockout games.

It is very unfortunate," a BCCI source told PTI.

Rawal has been a key performer for India ever since making her debut in December 2024. She has forged several strong opening partnerships with Smriti Mandhana and has kept the struggling Shafali Verma out of the team for the World Cup. Meanwhile, Pratika is also the joint-fastest player to have scored 1000 runs in women's ODIs, having scored those runs in just 23 innings, alongside Lindsay Reeler of Australia. 

In her absence, the Indian team will have to look at other options to replace Rawal at the top ahead of the knockouts. 

3 Players who can open with Mandhana in place of Rawal

1 - Harleen Deol: Right-handed batter Harleen Deol can be a strong option for opening the batting with Smriti Mandhana. Harleen has become an Indian mainstay ever since finding runs with the bat from December last year onwards. She plays at No.3 and is a suitable candidate to open with Mandhana.

Moreover, former India captain Mithali Raj advocated for Harleen opening the innings in the semifinal. "The question now is who opens with Smriti if Pratika isn't fit to take the field on the 30th. The first option could be promoting number three, Harleen, since she's often walked in early and is comfortable facing the new ball," Mithali said on JioStar.

2 - Amanjot Kaur: Another option for India to open the innings with Mandhana is that of all-rounder Amanjot Kaur. Amanjot, a fast-bowling all-rounder, is a capable batter and can be used as a makeshift opener. It was Deepti Sharma and Amanjot who had bailed India out of a precarious situation with their half-centuries in the clash against Sri Lanka from lower down the order.

It was Amanjot who came out to open with Mandhana in the clash against Bangladesh when Rawal was injured. If Amanjot comes in to open, India can rope in an extra bowler and have that sixth bowling option that has been a much-debated thing. 

3 - Shafali Verma: Another option is to bring Shafali Verma as a replacement player for Rawal and make her open against Australia. Shafali is not in the squad or in the reserves, but the Indian team can still seek a late entry of the opener in the main squad to make her open. 

Shafali was not picked for the World Cup due to her inconsistent form in the national colours. She is, however, in strong form in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy and has slammed 341 runs in seven innings.