A new cricexec poll of global cricket executives has revealed near-unanimous support for a rule change in how the ICC awards World Cup winners’ medals. Asked whether players who were part of a World Cup squad earlier in the tournament — but were replaced due to injury — should still receive a winner’s medal, 94% said yes and only 6% said no.
The results come in the wake of the Pratika Rawal controversy that captured global attention after India’s 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup triumph. Despite being one of the tournament’s top performers, Rawal was initially denied a winner’s medal under current ICC regulations, which restrict eligibility to members of the final 15-player squad.
“This flag on my shoulder means so much”
Pratika Rawal had been one of India’s standout performers in the tournament, amassing 308 runs across six innings at an average of 51.33. She was India’s second-highest run-scorer and fourth overall in the tournament standings. Her consistency at the top of the order helped anchor India’s batting through the tough early stages of the competition.
Her campaign came to a heartbreaking end during India’s final group-stage match — a dead rubber against Bangladesh — when she suffered an ankle injury. That injury ruled her out of the knockout stages, prompting the team management to officially replace her in the 15-member squad with Shafali Verma.
A rule under scrutiny
Under ICC regulations, only the players in the official 15-player squad at the time of the final are eligible to receive medals. Though Rawal began the tournament as a key squad member, her substitution due to injury meant she no longer met that requirement.
This was not an isolated case. In the 2003 Men’s ODI World Cup, Australia’s Jason Gillespie took eight wickets in four matches before an injury led to his replacement by Nathan Bracken. Despite his contributions, Gillespie did not receive a winner’s medal — Bracken did.
As Rawal’s story spread, debate reignited over whether the ICC’s medal policy was fair to injured players whose earlier performances had shaped their team’s success.
“I have my own medal now”
Following widespread public support and media scrutiny, Rawal eventually confirmed that she did receive a winner’s medal after ICC Chairman Jay Shah personally intervened.
“Jay Shah texted our manager that I want to make arrangements to get medal for Pratika,” Rawal told CNN News18.
“So, finally, I now do have my own medal. The first time I opened it up (medal given to her by support staff) and, I looked towards it, I was almost in tears. I’m not a person who cries a lot but that emotion was real, that feeling of join us.”
She added that Shah had assured her earlier that a medal was being arranged through official channels.
“Jay Shah told us that he is asking the ICC if they can send a medal. So that medal is going to take some while, to reach me. So, one of the support staff gave me their medal to wear for now. Consider that I have my own. So, the medal is on the way,” she said.
ICC under pressure to change the rule
While the ICC has not issued a formal statement, Rawal’s case has already prompted calls for a policy review. Cricket administrators and fans alike have argued that the current system penalises players for misfortune rather than recognising contribution.
The cricexec poll result — 94% in favour of a rule change — suggests overwhelming consensus across the cricket industry that players like Rawal deserve formal recognition.
Her story, reminiscent of Jason Gillespie’s two decades earlier, appears to have finally shifted the sport’s moral compass.
If the poll is any indication, the next time a player’s tournament is cut short by injury, the ICC may no longer let medals — or memories — be decided by paperwork.
