Meet Pratika Rawal, who started playing cricket at 10, now makes debut in India's women's team

Pratika Rawal has become the 150th woman to play an ODI for India. The 24-year-old made her debut against West Indies in the first of the three one-dayers between the two sides on Sunday. Earlier, West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl against India. Rawal opened the batting alongside Smriti Mandhana, who gave Rawal her maiden ODI cap before the series opener. Rawal scored 40 runs from 69 balls in her first ODI match.

Who is Pratika Rawal?

Rawal is a right-hander who plays for Delhi in domestic cricket. She is a psychology graduate, who marked her international cricket debut against West Indies and became the 150th player to represent India Women. She started playing cricket at the age of 10. The younger cricketer built her academic and cricketing career simultaneously.

Rawal first came to the limelight in the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy in 2021. Back then, she scored 247 runs from seven games at an average of 49.40 and a strike rate of 78.41. Rawal recently captained Delhi in their unbeaten run to the Under-23 T20 Trophy final. She was also the second-highest run-getter in the tournament.

A moment to cherish for #TeamIndia debutant NDvWI | @mandhana_smriti | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/biqq0R5OIp

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 22, 2024

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Rawal was a big name in the Delhi Women's Premier League (WPL). She played for East Delhi Riders and scored 93 runs in just two fixtures. Throughout her List-A career, Rawal has accumulated 1368 runs, maintaining an average of 54.72 with a steadily improving strike rate of 75.58.