NAVI MUMBAI: It is official. After being out of the ODI set-up for over 12 months, Shafali Verma may walk out to open the batting with Smriti Mandhana for India in the Women's World Cup semifinal against Australia at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. The 21-year-old explosive batter from Haryana was approved as the replacement for injured Pratika Rawal by the ICC Event Technical Committee on Monday.
The 21-year-old — captaining Haryana in the senior women's T20 knockouts in Surat — was supposed to play against Mumbai on Monday morning, but that match was called off due to rain. Later in the day, Shafali received the happy news that she has to travel to Mumbai and join the Indian team two days before the semifinal clash.
Understandably, her father, Sanjeev Verma, was delighted to hear about her selection for the World Cup. “Very happy that she has gotten into the World Cup. Thankful to god and the BCCI. God has listened to my prayers,” a happy Sanjeev told this daily. After all, the last 12 months had not been easy for the Verma family. Shafali was a part of the team that faced an early exit in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. She played the home series against New Zealand in October before being dropped from the Indian team in both white-ball formats.
With Sanjeev suffering a heart attack two days before the squad announcement, Shafali hid the news from her father. “I had a (heart) attack, and a stent was placed as well. When I got to know later (about her being dropped), I told her, ‘it is okay. You play your best in whichever matches you get, and the rest will happen. The selectors are watching, the board is watching, they will pick you at the right time,” Sanjeev recalled.
Shafali did just that in the months that followed. In the senior one-dayers, she smashed 527 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 152.31, including two centuries. Shafali also followed it up with 414 runs in five matches during the senior one-day challengers in Chennai at an average of 82.8 and a strike rate of 145.26. Though her team lost the final, Shafali showed why she is the most explosive batter in the country. Speaking on the sidelines of that event in January 2025, the opener had said that she is focusing on building her innings. ”As you all know, my starts are good, but building an innings remains an issue. But now, I am focusing on how to get those singles, how to build the innings and how to do well for the team. That is what I am trying to do. If I play long innings, as you can see, the team is winning,” Verma had said in a select media interaction.
Her form continued in the Women’s Premier League, where Shafali hit 304 runs at 152.76 strike rate, helping Delhi Capitals reach their third successive final. On the back of her performances, she eventually made her T20I comeback in England, but Rawal had sealed the top spot with her consistency and the sheer weight of runs. Now, Rawal ruled out with an unfortunate injury, Shafali finds herself in a situation where she could play a pivotal part in deciding India’s fortunes in a home World Cup knockouts.
The 21-year-old is coming into the tournament in good form — 341 runs in seven T20 innings at an average of 56.83 and strike rate of 182.35 — but the opponents are not the same. As someone always regarded as a league above the bowlers she faces in the domestic circuit, Shafali will be up against the best in the business. The defending champions have lost only six games since the 2017 ODI World Cup, of which only two came against India. And when she walks out to bat in front of what is expected to be a sell-out crowd — weather permitting — on Thursday, Shafali will feel the heat against the likes of Megan Schutt, Kim Garth, Alana King and Sophie Molineux. However, the fearless batter will see this as an opportunity just like her father does. “It is great that she has gotten this chance at this time. I will only say this much: to do well and keep the World Cup in India. The team is good and everyone is performing,” Sanjeev said with confidence.
Ahead of what is possibly the toughest challenge for the home team, the new selection committee, led by Amita Sharma, has backed Shafali to rise to the occasion and deliver for the country. It is what she has always dreamt of doing. Will the dream meet the destiny? The next 72 hours will tell.
