Batter yet to make WPL debut picked as Jemimah Rodrigues' replacement for Asian Games 2026 squad

India women’s cricket team have made a forced change to their Asian Games 2026 squad. An injured Jemimah Rodrigues has been ruled out of the tournament. She has been replaced by ODI specialist Pratika Rawal who made her T20I debut in the ongoing Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026.

India have lost the services of their fourth-highest run-scorer in T20Is. Her replacement, Pratika has played three T20Is so far and registered scores of 22, 10 and 4 against Thailand, Hong Kong and Pakistan respectively. Pratika is yet to make her Women’s Premier League (WPL) debut. In the WPL 2026 auction, she went unsold in the initial round. But, in the accelerated part of the auction, she was roped in by UP Warriorz for Rs 50 lakh. 

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India’s updated squad for Asian Games 2026

Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, G. Kamalini, Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil (subject to fitness), Radha Yadav, Nandni Sharma, Pratika Rawal.

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When will Harmanpreet-led India begin their Asian Games 2026 campaign?

India will begin their campaign against hosts Japan in the quarter-final clash on September 17. The semifinals will be played on September 20 followed by the finals on September 22.

Pratika, a consistent ODI performer

Pratika is yet to make her mark in T20Is but she has been a proven performer in ODIs. From just 26 ODI innings, she has 1,189 runs at an average of 47.56 featuring two tons and eight fifties. The team management seem to be relying on her to play the anchor role if wickets fall early on in the innings.

Will Pratika play in Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026 semifinal?

India will face Bangladesh in the semifinal clash on September 10. India are likely to retain Pratika in the side as the only other batter on the bench is Gunalan Kamalini. 18-year-old Gunalan had made her T20I debut against Sri Lanka last year, scoring 12 runs. She has played 14 games for Mumbai Indians (MI) and scored 107 runs from 10 innings.