Australia captain Alyssa Healy has recovered from a calf injury and is set to return for the ODI World Cup semi-final against India. Meanwhile, India’s Pratika Rawal has been ruled out with an ankle and knee injury, with Shafali Verma named as her replacement.
Ahead of the marquee clash against England at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, Australia captain Alyssa Healy suffered a calf injury, which ruled her out of the final two matches of the league. The keeper-batter suffered the injury while training, and since Australia had already qualified for the semi-finals, the team management didn’t risk her against England and South Africa.
As things stand, Healy has recovered well and was in good touch during Australia’s net sessions. She passed the fitness test and is expected to return to the playing XI in the semi-final clash against India on October 30 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. She was spotted keeping in the nets, before slogging against the net bowlers.
Healy’s return is a massive boost for Australia, as the 35-year-old smacked back-to-back tons before suffering the injury. She made 142 runs against India as Australia chased 330 runs in Visakhapatnam. In the following game, the veteran made an unbeaten 113 runs against Bangladesh to help Australia win by 10 wickets. She is now expected to replace Georgia Voll at the top of the order.
Shafali Verma replaces Pratika Rawal
Pratika Rawal suffered an ankle injury and also hurt her knee in the match against Bangladesh. Since then, she has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI World Cup as Shafali Verma has been announced as a replacement. The 21-year-old was dropped after a series of poor shows in ODIs, but she was in the scheme of things, given her aggressive playing style.
Rawal’s injury opened the gate for Shafali, who now has the opportunity to prove her worth in the biggest stage of them all and cement his spot in the playing XI. Rawal has been fantastic with the bat, but her strike rate has always been concerning. Shafali is expected to solve that issue but it needs to be seen if Shafali finds her momentum right away.