Richa Ghosh Injury Update: Will Indian Wicket-Keeper Play Semifinal vs AUS?

India Women have managed to qualify for the ODI Women's World Cup 2025 semi-finals and will clash against Australia. Ahead of the semi-final match, India is playing against Bangladesh on October 26, which is their last league stage match. The Women in Blue began the tournament with two consecutive wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but then struggled to beat South Africa, Australia, and England.

Their chances of qualification were under scrutiny, but the one-sided victory against New Zealand helped them seal the seat in the knockouts. However, in the Bangladesh match, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur rested star batter Richa Ghosh, which raised eyebrows regarding injury concerns for the player.

Will Richa Ghosh Play in Semi-Final Against Australia?

Richa Ghosh, one of the match-winners in the team, was rested ahead of the semi-final match. While the rumours started surfacing on the internet regarding injury concerns, India's bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi revealed that Richa Ghosh injury is not the correct rumour and she will play IND-W vs AUS-W in the semi-finals. She was rested due to effective workload management, as the tournament is long.

“With regards to Richa’s fitness, I think she is fine, and the S&C team is taking care of it. They are still discussing, so I don’t have the exact updates about it, but she looks fine," India bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi had told the media after the session.

“Since we entered into the World Cup, we already knew that it was a very long tournament and the workloads were planned accordingly. We had said that (when) we get into the World Cup, we plan almost 2-3 months back, so from a workload point of view, everything is taken care of," Salvi added.

Can India Women Beat Australia Women in Semi-Finals?

Team India, playing under familiar home conditions, definitely had moments of brilliance throughout the group stage of the ICC Women's World Cup. One of the best women cricketers, Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal have been very successful in their batting efforts, whereas Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana have been the most economical bowlers and have taken some wickets for their team. However, the Women in Blue had a few bumps on the road, including a loss against Australia. India managed to get back on track with important victories, especially against New Zealand, which enabled them to qualify for the semi-final.

As​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ they get ready to confront the defending champions, Australia, again, the next challenge is huge. Australia have been the dominant force in the tournament due to its all-around power, deep bench, and experience in handling pressure. Their powerful batting lineup and bowling full of discipline are what make them the team to beat.

On the other hand, India’s knowledge of the local conditions, their top order, and spin attack can take the match away from them at least. The Women in Blue can definitely put one of the best women's cricket teams, Australia, under pressure if they are able to post a big total and take early wickets with the ball. Yet, with Australia playing at their best, the hosts will have to be almost flawless if they are to stun and make it to the ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌final.