Shafali Verma replaces injured Pratika Rawal in India's World Cup squad ahead of semi-final

Shafali Verma, originally not part of India's Women's World Cup squad - either in the mains or the reserves - has received a late call-up as injured Pratika Rawal's replacement. Shafali, 21, is available for India's semi-final against Australia on October 30.

When the World Cup squad was announced in August, Shafali was left out - and Rawal was preferred as Smriti Mandhana's opening partner - because the selectors prioritised consistency over X-factor. Shafali hasn't played ODIs for India since October 2024 but has been involved with India A in the 50-over format. She scored 52 against Australia A in Brisbane in August and 70 against New Zealand A in Bengaluru in September.

In December 2024, Shafali also scored 527 runs at an average of 75.28 and a strike rate of 152.31 in the domestic one-dayers for Haryana, including a top-score of 197 off 115 balls against Bengal. She followed that up with a sensational WPL 2025 season for Delhi Capitals, becoming the fourth-highest run-getter in the season and the most prolific Indian batter, with 304 runs at a strike rate of 152.76.

As Rawal's replacement, Shafali could walk into the playing XI for the semi-final against Australia right away. Her arrival comes as India look to preserve the solidity that the Rawal-Mandhana partnership provided in this World Cup, featuring in two of the tournament's top five batting partnerships - 212 against New Zealand and 155 against Australia. Rawal herself averaged 51.33 in six innings with scores of 75 against Australia and a match-winning 122 against New Zealand in the league stage. The Rawal-Mandhana partnership has set the base for India's batting performances through the World Cup with a wobbly middle-order for most of the campaign.

Rawal, the tournament's second-highest run-getter, injured herself during Bangladesh's batting innings in India's final league-stage game. In the 21st over of Bangladesh's innings, Rawal tried to stop a boundary but her foot got stuck in the turf and her ankle twisted as she fell to the ground. She did not bat later, with Amanjot Kaur opening instead in the fixture that was eventually abandoned without a result. Only Mandhana has scored more runs than Rawal in this tournament.

If Shafali does not make the XI right away, India could opt for Harleen Deol or Amanjot to open against Australia. Uma Chetry - who opened in the warm-up game against New Zealand - is another option, as is Jemimah Rodrigues, who has opened 18 times in ODI cricket previously. Tejal Hasabnis, the only batter in the reserves for the World Cup, was not drafted in upon Rawal's injury.

An ICC release stated that Shafali's inclusion was approved by the Event Technical Committee on Monday evening. The committee includes Wasim Khan (Chair, ICC General Manager - Cricket), Gaurav Saxena (ICC General Manager - Events & Corporate Communications), Abey Kuruvilla (BCCI Tournament Director) and Mel Jones (Independent nominee).