Shreyanka Patil cleared to return from ankle injury for India at 2026 Asian Games in Japan
Shreyanka Patil has recovered from an ankle injury and is set to play for India at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, her coach Arjun Dev said on 2026-09-16. “Yes, she’s on her way to Japan,” Shreyanka’s coach Arjun Dev told India Today.
Patil had been working toward full fitness after missing the Asia Cup and the later stages of the Women's T20 World Cup because of the ankle problem. She was named in India’s Asian Games squad in June, but that selection was conditional on receiving fitness clearance following the injury sustained during the T20 World Cup.
The ankle injury occurred during India’s Group A match against the Netherlands at Headingley on June 17, when the off-spinner hurt her right ankle while fielding, was unable to put weight on it and was stretchered off. She was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the T20 World Cup and the BCCI replaced her in the squad with leg-spinner Prema Rawat.
That replacement carried through into the Asia Cup selections: Patil missed India’s Asia Cup squad announced in August and was the only player from the Asian Games contingent to be omitted, with Prema Rawat retaining the spot she had taken during the T20 World Cup. The ankle issue had also forced Patil to sit out the Women’s Asia Cup in the UAE.
Patil’s latest setback followed an extended injury history that included a fractured finger and a lengthy period sidelined by shin splints, after which she returned to international cricket following a 16-month absence. She made her comeback in February and was part of India’s T20 World Cup campaign before the ankle injury halted her progress.
The 24-year-old is regarded as an all-round option, contributing as an off-spinner and a lower-order batter; since her international debut in December 2023 she has played three ODIs and 24 T20Is, taking 34 wickets. The 24-year-old's return would be a significant boost for India's campaign in Japan.
Patil is now expected to join India for the Asian Games in Japan, where the women's cricket competition will again be contested in the T20 format and India will enter as the defending gold medallists from the 2022 Hangzhou Games.
