India’s luminary opener Shafali Verma is all set to make her debut in Test and One-Day Internationals later this month and every cricket fan is eagerly waiting for her to kick start her test and ODI career with a bang.
Ever since her she made her debut against the proteas in November 2019, she has been the talk of the town. From being the youngest Indian to play a T20 World Cup Final and topping the ICC T20 ranking thrice now, the 17-year-old has had the best start to her cricketing career.
All eyes will be on Shafali during the tour of England, where India will play a one-off Test match, 3 One-Day Internationals, and 3 T20 Internationals. Her form will be crucial for India who is planning to return with a win. India will be desperate to win as they lost their last limited over series against South Africa at home in March.
Former Indian Captain Anjum Chopra praised the 17-year-old and pins large hopes on her in the upcoming England tour.
“You have picked a youngster; you hope that she comes good. We hope she does justice to the talent for whichever team she plays. And for the talent to come good, one has to wait and wait,” the 44-year-old Anjum told CricketCountry in an exclusive chat.
Shafali had recently admitted that her batting skills have improved a bit from last year and she has been working on it ever since.
“If you try to get better at something and get complacent after trying just once, it never works out. I chalked out a plan and played 150 balls [bouncers] at a time, then rested for a bit and faced more bouncers. I focused on practicing the same thing over and over again,” Shafali was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
When Anjum was asked about India’s chances of winning against England, she said, “I would want them to win, there is nothing better. But again, when you talk of the realistic chances, it is a very good team and the faster they adapt, it would be better as you would then get to see a competitive series.”
Team India flew to England with the men’s team on a chartered flight on June 2 and is currently in hard quarantine in Southampton. The women’s team will move to Bristol after 14 days to play their first test match in almost 8 years.