India made history by winning their first-ever ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in 2025, defeating South Africa by 52 runs in a thrilling final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
The victory marked an iconic moment for Indian women's cricket, ending decades of near misses and establishing the team as world champions for the first time.
In the final, Shafali Verma played a stellar knock of 87 runs and picked up 2 wickets, thus becoming the Player of the Match. Shafali replaced Pratika Rawal for the knockout matches, who was unfortunately ruled out with an injury. Incidentally, Pratika also didn't receive a winner's medal in the World Cup.
Why did Pratika Rawal not receive a Winner's Medal?
Pratika Rawal did not receive a winner's medal in the 2025 Women's Cricket World Cup despite being India's
second-highest run-scorer with 308 runs in six innings because of ICC regulations regarding squad replacements during a tournament.
Rawal played an important role in the group stages but suffered a serious ankle injury during India's rain-affected final league match against Bangladesh. Due to this injury, she was officially replaced in the 15-member squad by Shafali Verma before the semifinal stage.
According to ICC rules, winner's medals are only awarded to the official squad members registered at the conclusion of the tournament, including knockout and final matches. Since Rawal was replaced after her injury, she was no longer considered part of the official squad when India won the title. Shafali Verma, who came in as her replacement and starred in the final, received the winner's medal instead.
In the 2003 Men's World Cup, Australian bowler Jason Gillespie was also replaced mid-tournament due to injury and did not receive a medal even though he contributed significantly before his injury. While Rawal's absence from the medal ceremony was a technicality, it was an emotional moment for her as she celebrated with the team in a wheelchair and was involved in the celebrations.
