India lose key batter ahead of UAE tournament and Nagoya Games

India batter Jemimah Rodrigues has been ruled out of the upcoming Women’s Asia Cup and Asian Games after suffering a high-grade right hamstring tear.

The 25-year-old sustained the injury on 3 August while playing for Southern Brave in The Hundred in England. The BCCI Medical Team assessed Rodrigues at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and confirmed the extent of the injury.

Pratika Rawal comes in for Asia Cup

Pratika Rawal has been named as Rodrigues’ replacement in India’s Asia Cup squad. Rawal, who has represented India only in ODIs in white-ball cricket, returns to the national fold after being ruled out of the recent England Test with an injury. She needed stitches on her knee after hurting herself in the field while playing for India A.

Asia Cup in UAE

The Women’s Asia Cup begins in the UAE on 28 August, with India drawn alongside Pakistan, Thailand and Hong Kong in Group A. India will face Pakistan in the tournament’s marquee clash on 5 September in Dubai, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The final is scheduled for 13 September.

India’s updated Women’s Asia Cup squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), G. Kamalini (WK), Arundhati Reddy, Prema Rawat, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Pratika Rawal.

Asian Games absence

Rodrigues will also miss the Asian Games in Nagoya, where cricket will be played in the T20 format again from 17 September to 3 October. India are the top-seeded team in the women’s competition and will face Japan in the quarter-final, with a potential semi-final against Bangladesh or Hong Kong, China. Pakistan are in the other half of the draw, meaning the arch-rivals can meet only in the gold-medal match or the bronze-medal play-off, both scheduled for 22 September.