London, July 8 (IANS) India opener Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the historic one-off Test match against England after sustaining a knee injury while fielding during India A’s second 50-over fixture against England A in Taunton, head coach Amol Muzumdar announced on Wednesday.

Right-handed batter Priya Punia has been drafted into the squad as her replacement for the marquee clash, which marks the first-ever women’s Test match to be played at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground starting on Friday. Priya, who has played 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India, stayed back from the A team as a cover and batted in India’s practice session on Wednesday.

“I would like to say that Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the Test match due to her injury in the India A match. She has got a cut on her knee which required some stitches. So I guess she is out for the Test match and Priya Punia has been added into the squad,” Muzumdar said during the pre-match press conference.

Expressing his excitement over the monumental occasion, the head coach stated that playing a Test match at the ‘Home of Cricket’ is the ultimate dream for any Indian cricketer. “It just boggles my mind that it is just the first Test match here at Lords. Having said that, I am really fortunate and would like to extend my wishes to everyone who is involved in this.

“It is a great occasion and we are looking forward to it. It is a dream to play a test match for any Indian cricketer, leave alone playing at Lords. I am sure everyone who would wear those whites tomorrow would be proud of them being there at Lord’s to play the Test match.

“We have always maintained this in the dressing room – traditionally we have done really well in the Test matches. Everyone was talking about the Test match at Lords even before the World Cup started. I guess the time is now, so I guess they will be excited about it.”

The Test match comes on the heels of India’s disappointing league stage exit at the recently concluded Women’s T20 World Cup, and Muzumdar acknowledged that while the performance was a ‘mixed bag,’ the team has successfully shifted its focus to the longest format.

“To be honest, it has been a mixed bag. We had to recover from the loss. We were disappointed for sure. We didn’t have the best of World Cups. But having said that, the character of the team had to come out and we need to get out of that phase and come into the test match preparation sooner.

“I guess we have managed to do that. We had five really good days of prep at the Wormsley Cricket Club, a beautiful ground, just a perfect setting for the preparation and then here at Lord’s. So I guess the preparation has been good and as I said, excited to be here at Lord’s.”

Muzumdar also urged his players to leave past heartbreaks behind and stay rooted in the present. “I think all we need to do is just stay in the present. What is gone, we cannot change it. We know it, we have discussed about it within the squad. We can’t change what has happened.

“All we need to do is look forward and prepare the best we can for the event ahead. So I guess that has been the talk and I am sure all of them, all the players are looking forward for the Test match. Just leave aside the disappointment and get into the present and look forward to it.”

When asked about tackling the unique and challenging slope of bowling and batting at Lord’s, the former domestic batting giant asserted that his side is well aware of the conditions and ready to adapt.

“We have spoken about this. It’s not difficult to find out where the slope goes. Just take into account certain things but at the same time you just have to deal with it and come up with solutions. It’s the same for both the teams. I am sure both the teams will try and exploit that as much as possible.”

–IANS

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