Dubai, June 19 (IANS) India have suffered a major injury blow in their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign as off-spinner Shreyanka Patil has been ruled out of the tournament after sustaining an injury to her ankle. Uncapped legspinner Prema Rawat has been named her replacement.

During India’s Group A clash against the Netherlands on Wednesday, the off-spinner was stretchered off the field after twisting her right ankle on the first ball of the sixth over of the Netherlands’ innings when Shreyanka, having just come in to bowl, chased a ball towards mid‑on, but went down on the field after twisting her right ankle. She immediately clutched her ankle and winced in pain, with teammates rushing to her aid.

“The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has approved Prema Rawat as a replacement for Shreyanka Patil in the India squad. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad,” ICC said in a statement.

The 24-year-old leg-break bowler impressed in her recent outing in the Women’s Premier League and also in the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars. She picked eight wickets at an average of 9.62 for India A in the latter. Prema has featured in six Women’s Premier League matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru over the last two seasons, picking up three wickets. In the domestic circuit, she played a crucial hand in Uttarakhand’s victory in the domestic senior championship.

Shreyanka, meanwhile, had made a comeback to international cricket from injury earlier this year, and had featured in India’s win against Pakistan, where she finished with 0-17 from three overs.

Earlier this year, in the 2026 WPL, Shreyanka was a member of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team, winning the title. On her return to international cricket, Shreyanka openly spoke about the mental toll of repeated injuries and admitted to battling thoughts of giving up the game altogether, but credited her family and support system for keeping her motivated.

India are unbeaten in their group so far, having beaten Pakistan and Netherlands. They face South Africa on Sunday in Manchester.

–IANS

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