Shreyanka Patil, one of the most promising young stars to have come out of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), will be missing the 2025 season after suffering an untimely injury. This is a major setback for defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who depended a lot on her all-round abilities last season.
Patil was instrumental in RCB’s victorious WPL 2024 run, topping the tournament’s wicket-takers and earning the coveted Purple Cap. She took four key wickets in the final against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi to deliver the match-winning effort. But she has been dealing with an ongoing injury, and her latest issue has effectively knocked her out of this season’s tournament.
Since Patil is on the sidelines, RCB is making serious attempts at finding replacements. Reports have indicated that all-round veteran Sneh Rana is the prime candidate to fill her place in the team. Rana played for Gujarat Giants (GG) previously and failed to get auctioned in WPL 2024 but has been spotted practising with the RCB team before their first season match.
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Interestingly, Shreyanka Patil had also been prominently used in RCB’s pre-season social media promotions but recently put up a cryptic tweet suggesting uncertainty over her availability.
Heartbroken, but I will fly again. pic.twitter.com/et8VBYPO7q
— Shreyanka Patil (@shreyanka_patil) February 14, 2025
RCB’s lineup has already lost heavily to injury and withdrawals. They are also missing Asha Sobhana (knee injury), star all-rounder Sophie Devine (taking a domestic cricket break), left-arm bowler Sophie Molineux (injury), and pacer Kate Cross, who withdrew for rehabilitation. This absence is a major challenge for RCB to defend their title.
In spite of these disappointments, RCB rode off to a fine start to their WPL 2025 campaign, beating Gujarat Giants comprehensively in their first match.
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In pursuit of a challenging total of 202, Richa Ghosh and Ellyse Perry scored match-winning half-centuries to take RCB to victory within 18.3 overs with six wickets remaining. Though Patil’s absence is a big loss, RCB has proved to be resilient, and their championship-winning streak will be tested as they make it through the season minus some of their best men.
