When RCB Went All-In For Prema Rawat Amid Shreyanka Patil Injury Scare

Prema Rawat joined RCB before WPL 2025 (Source: AFP Photos)

An unfortunate Shreyanka Patil Injury came as a blessing in disguise for Prema Rawat, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) added the 24-year-old in India’s Women’s T20 World Cup squad.

Patil, whose early career often came to a halt due to frequent injury woes, probably received the most heartbreaking setback after being ruled out of the entire Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.

For those who might not be aware, Prema Rawat is part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), along with Shreyanka Patil. In fact, her addition to the squad came with another Shreyanka Patil injury alarm for the Women’s Premier League (WPL).

Shreyanka Patil Injury Troubled RCB Before WPL 2025

In 2023, Shreyanka Patil took six wickets in her debut WPL season and also made 62 runs. In the following season, she impressed magnificently with the ball in hand, picking up 13 wickets, which played a key role in RCB’s maiden WPL triumph.

However, from then on, her injury setbacks made her life miserable. Last time, during the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, Patil was ruled out of the entire competition due to a broken finger.

Then she did not play a single match in WPL 2025 due to injury woes, followed by another setback for the India A women's tour of Australia 2025, which brought Prema Rawat into the mix, a move taken by the BCCI in July 2025.

Also Read: Shreyanka Patil's Nasty Injury Puts Women’s T20 World Cup Campaign In Jeopardy

Prema Rawat was the fourth-most expensive buy in the WPL 2025 auction, after Simran Shaikh (INR 1.9 Cr), Dendra Dottin (INR 1.70 Cr) and Gunalan Kamalini (INR 1.60 Cr).

RCB broke the bank to secure her, doing a bidding war with Delhi Capitals for Rawat, who set a base price of INR 10 lakh. 

Eventually, the Red and Gold franchise signed her for INR 1.2 crore, predominantly because of not only Rawat’s potential to deliver as a regular, but also as a replacement for Shreyanka Patil injury setback.

How Has Prema Rawat Fared In WPL?

Over two seasons, Rawat has played six matches for RCB, claiming three wickets. Of which, her biggest success was the wicket of Beth Mooney.

Over two seasons, Rawat has played six matches for RCB, claiming three wickets. Of which, her biggest success was the wicket of Beth Mooney.

Even though Prema Rawat was up for grabs for WPL 2026, RCB used the right-to-match (RTM) card to bring her back to the squad. Once again, she had a base price of INR 10 lakh. RCB did bid for her, but Gujarat Giants outbid them with an INR 20 cr bid.

Then, RCB decided not to bid on her further and secured her services via RTM.

Now, it will be interesting to see how Prema Rawat performs for India in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, if she gets a golden opportunity to shine.

India will next face South Africa on Sunday (June 21) in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.

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