Who is Prema Rawat? Uncapped spinner replaces injured Shreyanka Patil in India’s Women’s T20 World Cup squad

India’s unbeaten run at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has been hit off the field with a key member of the bowling attack being forced to exit the tournament due to injury. The development comes at a crucial stage of the competition as India continue their push for a place in the knockout rounds.

Off-spinner Shreyanka Patil has been ruled out of the remainder of the Women’s T20 World Cup after injuring her right ankle during India’s Group A match against the Netherlands.

The injury occurred on the first ball of the sixth over of the Netherlands innings. Shreyanka had just come on to bowl and was chasing a ball towards mid-on when she twisted her ankle awkwardly and collapsed to the ground in pain.

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The 22-year-old immediately grabbed her ankle as teammates and medical staff rushed to assist her. She was later stretchered off the field, raising concerns about the severity of the injury.

India continue to be perfect in the group stage

India got off to a flying start to their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign despite the injury setback.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s side have won both of their opening matches, defeating Pakistan and the Netherlands to move into a strong position in Group A.

ICC approves Prema Rawat as replacement

Following Shreyanka’s withdrawal, uncapped leg-spinner Prema Rawat has been named as her replacement in India’s squad.

Confirming the change, the ICC said: “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.“

Who is Prema Rawat?

Prema Rawat has been one of the promising young spinners in domestic cricket over the past few seasons.

The 24-year-old leg-spinner impressed while representing India A in the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament, where she claimed eight wickets at an outstanding average of 9.62.

She has also represented Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League, playing six matches in the last two seasons and picking up three wickets. Prema also played a key role at the domestic level helping Uttarakhand lift the Senior Women’s Championship, further enhancing her reputation as a reliable wicket-taking option.

The latest setback comes shortly after Shreyanka had successfully returned to international cricket following an earlier injury layoff.

She was part of India’s opening World Cup win against Pakistan and bowled three economical overs, finishing with figures of 0/17.

Earlier this year, Shreyanka was also part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad that won the 2026 Women’s Premier League title.

The off-spinner has spoken openly about the challenges of dealing with injuries and revealed that repeated setbacks had at one stage made her consider walking away from the game.

But she credited her family and support system for helping her stay motivated and continue pursuing her cricketing career.

India’s next challenge comes against South Africa in Manchester on Sunday, where they will look to continue their unbeaten run and edge closer to a place in the semi-finals.