India's star player ruled out of Women's T20 World Cup 2026, RCB teammate named replacement

In a huge blow to Harmanpreet Kaur-led India, off-spinner Shreyanka Patil has been ruled out of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Shreyanka had suffered an ankle ligament injury during the match against Netherlands on June 17 and was stretchered off the field. 

The tournament's Event Technical Committee has approved leg-spinner Prema Rawat as Shreyanka's replacement in the squad.

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Prema’s T20 form of late

Prema was part of the India A’s tour of England. She is yet to make her T20I debut. The 24-year-old made her Women's Premier League (WPL) debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). She took a couple of wickets from just one inning. She has been a contest on India A tours of late. Since the WPL 2026, she has taken eight wickets from five games for India A.

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She has been picked ahead of Minnu Mani, Tanuja Kanwar and Vaishnavi Sharma.

Who will replace Shreyanka in playing XI?

If Prema doesn't play straightaway, India have one more spinner on the bench. Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav can walk into the squad. Among pacers, India have two options in Arundhati Reddy and Renuka Singh Thakur.

India's next match is an important one. They face South Africa on June 21 at Manchester's Emirates Old Trafford.

As Shreyanka bowled just one over before leaving the field, Shafali Verma bowled 3.2 overs, conceded 20 runs and claimed three wickets. Despite Shreyanka's injury, India had three spinners at disposal. If they chose Radha for South Africa game, it will provide more depth to the batting. Otherwise, they can include an extra pacer in the lineup.

India’s updated Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad

Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Nandani Sharma, Yastika Bhatia, Renuka Singh Thakur, Radha Yadav, Prema Rawat.

Where are India in points table?

In Group A, India are on top of the points table with four points from two wins. They have a slightly better net run rate (NRR) than Australia. A win against South Africa will strengthen India's chances of reaching the semifinals.