India suffered a major blow at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 as off-spinner Shreyanka Patil has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after sustaining a right ankle ligament injury.
Patil picked up the injury while fielding during India’s Group A match against the Netherlands on Wednesday. She went down in just the first over of her spell and was subsequently stretchered off the field, taking no further part in the game.
The injury is serious enough that Patil will need weeks on the sidelines to recover fully. This setback is particularly cruel given that she had only recently returned to international cricket after recovering from a previous injury, featuring in India’s win over Pakistan where she bowled three economical overs for 17 runs.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Event Technical Committee has approved leg-spinner Prema Rawat as her replacement in the Indian squad. Rawat, who was already in England with the India A team, will now join the senior squad for the remainder of the tournament.
The 24-year-old, who plays for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the WPL, starred in India’s triumph at the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament earlier this year, claiming eight wickets in five games at an impressive economy rate of 4.27 with best figures of 3/12. This will be her maiden call-up to the senior national side.
