Calling a place on the Lord’s honours board the “holy grail”, India opener Pratika Rawal says she is relishing the prospect of the historic Test in July.

“When you do play, all the legends have scored their hundreds there; they have your names (on the honours board) when you score a hundred. I’m definitely really excited for that Test match, especially because I think it’s such a beautiful format and I crave that format a lot. I’m preparing well, putting in the hard work for that preparation,” Rawal told PTI on the sidelines of a visit to her alma mater Jesus and Mary College on Friday.

Reflecting on her recovery, the 25-year-old said her academic grounding in psychology played a key role in dealing with the mental toll of being sidelined after India’s 2025 ODI World Cup triumph.

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“I’m totally over that (the injury). The good thing about psychology is it teaches you how to understand yourself, how to understand your emotions and constant behaviour, and it has helped me entirely,” she said.

“When I was in that injury phase, the first thing was to accept the fact that I’m injured right now. What are the things which are in my control? So it has helped me a lot and still helps me when I’m playing the game, when I’m dealing with that mental pressure,” she added.

Rawal, who made a successful Test debut against Australia in March this year with a composed 63 at the WACA, is currently sitting out the ongoing T20 series against South Africa as part of a workload management programme aimed at keeping her injury-free for a demanding calendar.

Her immediate focus, however, remains the landmark Test at Lord’s, which will mark the Indian women’s team’s first appearance at the iconic venue.

“Definitely (I’m eyeing that match). I mean, first there’s a World Cup, which I think we want to do extremely well in, but right after that we’re playing a Test match,” she said.

With England hosting the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup later this year, Rawal is eager to help India achieve a rare “double” by adding the T20 trophy to their 2025 ODI World Cup title. Despite her absence from the T20 side at present, Rawal said the team remains determined to build on its success in the 50-over format and make its mark in T20 cricket as well.

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“Everyone, for us, we have just one World Cup in ODIs. Now we want to make our name in T20s as well. So, just taking it one step at a time, preparing like champions. We were champions in ODIs, but we definitely want to be champions in T20s too,” she said.

Reflecting on her journey from a student at JMC to an India regular, Rawal underscored her simple approach to the game.

“The main thing, my USP, is taking one thing at a time. I don’t think too much about the future. This is what helps me keep calm. So it’s just one day at a time, one ball at a time,” she said.

Rawal also confirmed she is “absolutely fine” physically and has begun specific preparations for English conditions, drawing from her experience of touring the country last year.

“I’m absolutely fine now. I’ve already started preparing for the England tour. I’ve played there before, so I have an idea about the conditions, the swing and the bounce, so I’m just working according to that,” she concluded.

Published on Apr 17, 2026