New Delhi: Before the first Test against England at Lord’s, India were forced to make a late change after opener Pratika Rawal was ruled out with a knee injury. The Women’s Selection Committee has chosen Priya Punia as her replacement for the match, which starts on Friday.Pratika sprained her right ankle while playing for India A in the second One Day International against England A at Taunton. The injury required stitches, and he did not recover in time to appear in the Tests. The team’s head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed the problem before the match.“Pratika has been ruled out of the Test series due to an injury sustained in the India A match. She has a knee fracture which requires surgery. She is out for the Test match and Priya Punia has also been added,” Muzumdar said.Priya was called up after performing well in the recently concluded three one-dayers against England A. She finished as India A’s top scorer with 171 runs in three matches and played a key role in the teams’ 2-1 win.Pratika made her Test debut against Australia earlier this year, scoring 81 runs across two innings, including a half-century in the second innings.Talking about her longest-running love affair, Pratika said:“Test cricket is a very beautiful game. From my childhood, my father and coach told me that it is very important to excel in this game. When you train in this way, it naturally becomes your favorite game.”
India squad for 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, Krantih Putud, Sanara