Following the viral picture of her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pratika Rawal, the Indian cricketer, was handed her ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 winner’s medal. This happened during a felicitation ceremony at the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi on November 5 when the team, after their triumphant outing, was seen in a celebratory mood.
Team India made history on November 2 by defeating South Africa in the very last at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, securing their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title. Unfortunately, Pratika ignored the knockout stage after sustaining a knee and ankle injury throughout the league match against Bangladesh. Shafali Verma was introduced as her replacement and went on to shine in the final, prevailing the Player of the Match award for her all-round performance.
According to ICC rules, players who are replaced through a tournament and are not a part of the final 15-member squad are commonly ineligible for a winner’s medal. As a result, Pratika was not awarded one immediately after the final. Despite this, she celebrated India’s victory from her wheelchair, wrapped in the national flag, showing her unwavering spirit even without the medal.
Her recent photo with PM Modi holding her medal and beaming went viral and people are talking about it everywhere on the internet. The very rare exception made by the ICC in her case to give her the medal is a way of acknowledging her contribution to India’s historic World Cup journey, even though she was not able to attend the decisive matches due to injury.
The fans have applauded not only Pratika’s perseverance but also the whole team’s effort which led to the success in the final and hence made the role of every player in India’s first Women’s ODI World Cup victory. Besides, this scenario is a sign of the gradual rise of women’s cricket in India being recognized and supported.
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