The young 20-year-old destructive opening batter Shafali Verma, hailing from Rohtak has been on the go, hardly missing any series, since she burst onto the international scene, becoming the youngest player Indian male or female player to make her international debut at the tender age of 15 years and 239 days on 24th September 2019 in the 1st T20I against South Africa in Surat.
She impressed everyone in the women’s cricket fraternity with her fearless and attacking approach towards her game. She also went on to seal her spot as the first choice opening batter to partner alongside Smriti Mandhana. She has amassed 3,256 runs across formats (567 runs in 10 innings in Tests, 644 runs in 29 innings in ODIs, and 2,045 runs in 84 innings in T20Is), averaging a mind-boggling 63 in Tests, 23 in ODIs, and 25.56 in T20Is so far in her first five years at the international level.
However, she has struggled a bit in recent times with diminishing returns with the bat. She has been struggling especially in the ODI format, one of the possible reasons could be that she has yet to find a suitable template that would work for her to approach the format and adapt her game accordingly. She has scored 109 runs at a strike rate of 80.14 and an average of just 15.57 in the seven innings that she has played in the format in the last year, since her previous appearance in the format on 29th October 2024 in the 3rd ODI against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
As a result, Shafali has been overlooked in terms of selection, since the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, soon after the conclusion of the 9th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that took place in the United Arab Emirates in October 2024.
Recalling her snub from the national squad, Shafali Verma shared, “It’s not easy to get over it. I didn’t want to reveal because my father had a heart attack about two days before I got dropped from the team. I hid the news from him till he got better. He was in the hospital. I told him a week later.”
“Father knows everything, sometimes as kids even we forget our strengths, but they don’t forget. He reminded me of the workouts and drills from my childhood and helped me to do the same. When I started, we had these knocking drills – where I play on-drive, straight drive and that’s what I worked on. These are my strengths and sometimes you need to work on them to remember how good you are at them,” Shafali Verma spoke about her father’s role in helping her rediscover her strengths and get that self-confidence back into her game.
Shafali went back to domestic cricket, representing Haryana in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy in December and bounced back in style leading the run-scoring charts in the tournament by smashing 527 runs at a sensational strike rate of 152.31 and a mind-boggling average of 75.29 and in just 7 innings with the bat for her side in the tournament.
Her tally of runs included a couple of half-centuries and a couple of centuries in the tournament. Her best performance with the bat for Haryana in the tournament came on 23rd December 2024 when she scored a whirlwind century, (197 off 115 balls) falling just three short of her well-deserved double century against Bengal, at a mind-blowing strike rate of 171.30. Her knock included 22 boundaries and 11 maximums in her breath-taking innings for her side. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she also picked up 8 wickets in 7 innings at an economy of 4.84 with the ball for Haryana in the tournament.
She also went on to top the scoring charts in the Senior Women’s One Day Challenger Trophy 2024, while representing Team A as the skipper of the side. She amassed 414 runs at an impressive strike rate of 145.26 and an exceptional average of 82.80 in five innings with the bat for her side. Her tally of runs for her side includes 3 half-centuries and a century with the bat in the tournament.
Her best performance with the bat for her side in the tournament came on 13th January 2025, against Team D when she scored a brilliant century, 115 off 70 balls, scoring at a sensational strike rate of 164.28 for her side. Her knock included 14 boundaries and 6 maximums. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she also picked up 5 wickets in 5 innings with the ball for her side in the tournament.
“When I broke out at the domestic level, I quickly moved to the India level within two years. After that, it has been such a continuous journey that I haven’t really had time to pause and see what I can improve in my game. I have not had the time to really work on my game. I am positive that even this bad phase will end up teaching me something,” Shafali reflected at the positive side of the situation indicating it being an ideal time to pause and reflect on the areas to improve and elevate her game to the next level, while also taking the learnings on the way.
The Swashbuckling batter Shafali Verma would be keen to make her way back into the Indian set-up, while she waits for her next opportunity in Indian colours. With the way she’s churning out the runs at the domestic level, her return to the set-up could be vital, especially with the upcoming 13th edition of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in October later this year, which will be hosted by India.
(Quotes sourced from The New Indian Express)
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