Pratika Rawal to finally get her Women’s World Cup medal. Injured star REVEALS who helped her
The Indian women’s cricket team at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi. The injured Pratika Rawal (centre) was replaced by Shafali Verma in the squad for the semifinal and final of the ICC Women's World Cup | PTI
Even as the whole nation was celebrating the Indian women’s cricket team’s first ICC tournament win – the ODI World Cup – last week, there was a tinge of sadness. Regular opener Pratika Rawal who could not play the final, and the semifinal, because of an injury, did not receive the winner’s medal.
India created history on November 2, when they beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Rawal was replaced by Shafali Verma in the squad, which eventually proved to be a masterstroke, with the youngster winning the Player of the Match award for her 87 runs and two crucial wickets.
The ICC rules and regulations stipulate that only the 15 members of the winning squad get the medals.
When the winning squad led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur met Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday at his residence on Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi, and posed for a picture, netizens pointed out that Rawal was seen wearing the medal. While some speculated that she has finally received the medal, others pointed out that it was probably fellow teammate Amanjot Kaur who gave Rawal her own medal, as the former was seen in the photo without one.
Rawal, however, revealed in an interview with the CNN News18 that she would soon be getting a winner’s medal of her own, and that it was ICC chairman Jay Shah who facilitated it. “Jay Shah texted our manager that he wants to make arrangements to get the medal for me. So, finally, I now do have my own medal.”
She also told the channel that she teared up when she first saw the medal (which was given to her earlier by the team member).
While it seems that the world cricket body has made an exception, several netizens pointed out that Rawal deserves it as much as her teammates. The young opener was in prime form, scoring 308 runs in six matches, including one hundred and a fifty, at an average of 51.33. She was injured while fielding during the group stage match against Bangladesh.
Sports