New Delhi: India batter Pratika Rawal confirmed Friday that she has received her 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup winner’s medal, following an intervention by ICC Chairman Jay Shah.
Pratika was ruled out of the final stages of the tournament due to an ankle injury sustained in the washed-out clash against Bangladesh and was replaced by Shafali Verma, whose all-round brilliance in the final against South Africa helped India clinch a 52-run victory and lift the trophy at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
As per ICC rules, only players named in the 15-member squad for the World Cup final match are eligible for winners’ medals. Pratika, who was seen in a wheelchair during the post-victory celebrations, did not have a medal around her neck at that time, but has now got one.
“I finally have my own medal now. I’ve got a medal. Actually, Jay Shah, sir, requested the ICC to send a medal for me as well. So I have my own medal now, thanks to him. Thanks to my support staff and our whole team. They have arranged a medal for me because I was part of this team, and now I finally do have a medal,” Pratika told IANS in an exclusive conversation Thursday.
Before her injury, Pratika played a crucial role in India’s winning campaign, finishing as the team’s second-highest run scorer with 308 runs from six innings. Since the epochal ODI World Cup win, the Indian team has met several dignitaries, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu.
Pratika described life after winning the World Cup as surreal and amazing. “It feels surreal, actually. I mean, we’ve been travelling a lot after that win. We have met the Prime Minister, the President – it feels magical. I mean, seeing that trophy every now and then, having pictures with it – we still can’t get enough pictures.
“I mean, we’ve been taking a lot of pictures. Whenever we see that trophy, I think each one of us lifts that trophy, and they ask the videographer to take a few more photos because it just looks so good. I mean, we’ve been waiting for that trophy for so long, and now we have it.”
“So we just don’t want to let it go. We’re hugging it; we’re sleeping with it. A few of them were sleeping with it. They posted a picture of them sleeping with the trophy on their bed. So it’s a very different kind of feeling. It’s an amazing feeling, and I hope it stays for a very long time,” she added.
IANS
