Is Shafali Verma the Game-Changer India Women's Cricket Team Needs?

(Shafali Verma playing at the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup)

In the ever-changing world of Women's cricket, there is a new player on the rise, and her name is Shafali Verma. Ever since her debut for the India Women's cricket team, she has been showing consistent performances with the bat and also has a fearless attitude, which has helped her to grab the attention of several cricket enthusiasts worldwide. But the main question is, could Shafali Verma take her batting talent even ahead while being the leader of the team? Her fearless game attitude and the ability to finish the game while being under pressure show that Shafali Verma is one of the most suitable candidates to be the captain of the India Women's cricket team. In this blog, we will be discussing the reasons why Shafali Verma is the true contender for the team India's captaincy.

1. Young Rising Star

Shafali Verma is a young star for the India Women's cricket team, who has already showcased several impressive performances across all three formats. Her game intent has always been aggressive, which can be seen in both domestic and international matches. Having played more than 70 T20I matches for the India Women's cricket team, Shafali Verma has shown her skills in the shorter format. If she is granted the opportunity to become the captain of the India Women's cricket team, she will have a lot of time to gain experience and make decisions according to them.

(Shafali Verma along with Smriti Mandhana in a Test match)

Currently, Shafali Verma is just 20 years old, and she made her debut for the India Women's cricket team at the age of 15 in the 2019 T20I match against South Africa Women. However, her debut game didn't go as she expected because Shafali got out for a duck. But she took the other games as an opportunity to showcase her talent. With her intent of giving an aggressive start, Shafali Verma could be an example of leading the team from the front.

2. Active Participation Across Other T20 Leagues

Shafali Verma has shown active participation across the other T20 leagues as compared to the other young talents who are playing for the India Women's cricket team. Besides playing an important role for the Delhi Capitals Women in the Women's Premier League, Shafali Verma has also been a part of the Big Bash League and The Hundred.

(Shafali Verma playing for Sydney Sixers)

In the Big Bash League, she has played for the Sydney Sixers Women, scoring 191 runs in 12 innings with two half-centuries. Even in The Hundred, she has been a part of the Birmingham Phoenix team, and she scored 171 runs in the inaugural season of the tournament. This shows that Shafali Verma got the experience of playing at the overseas grounds too, which could help her to make strategic decisions for the team.

3. Support From Seniors

Being a part of the India Women's cricket team with senior players like Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, and various others, Shafali Verma will be receiving their support to show her captaincy skills for the country. The senior players would be backing Shafali to help her make the strategic decisions for the team to win the matches.

Having experienced players in the line-up who have played at almost every pitch could contribute well towards the initial stages of her captaincy for the India Women's cricket team. She could be able to discuss with them and make strategic decisions for the team's benefit accordingly.

(Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana batting together at the top order)

It has just been a few years since Shafali Verma has been playing across the international format, and she has been able to learn about the other pitches with the support of the senior players. Harmanpreet Kaur also holds the captaincy of the India Women's cricket team due to which she has experience of leading the team and could help out Shafali Verma in the initial stages.

4. Playing Style Matches Rohit Sharma

One of the most important factors due to which fans consider Shafali Verma as the prime contender for the India Women's cricket team captaincy is due to her playing style, which matches the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. She comes out to bat in the top order to score as many runs as possible in the powerplay of the innings.

(Shafali Verma along with Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma)

This is similar to the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, seen by the Indian fans in the ICC World Cup 2023, where Rohit Sharma smashed boundaries in the powerplay to boost the team's innings. Her batting skills have been just like Rohit Sharma and the cricket fans would really be excited to see whether she is able to captain the India Women's cricket team like Rohit or not.

5. Initial Struggles

Shafali Verma has been playing across the international format since the age of 15 and also had various struggles in the initial stages of her career. She revealed that she cut her hair off so that she could play cricket along with fellow players who used to play at the academies.

(Shafali Verma celebrating her half-century)

She disguised herself as a boy, and she was able to play at the Rohtak Academy. After watching her struggles through which she had been able to reach the India Women's cricket team, Shafali Verma is looking forward to utilising the opportunity if she gets the chance to be the captain of the India Women's cricket team. She will be looking forward to utilising the opportunity well and proving herself as a worthy captain for the India Women's cricket team.

6. Previous Captaincy Records

Shafali Verma led the India Women's Under-19 team across the ICC Women's Under-19 World Cup in 2023, where the India Women's cricket team was able to win the championship to become the inaugural champions. She led the team well in the tournament and showcased the example of leading the team from the front, as the India Women's Under-19 team dominated England in the final match.

(Shafali Verma in a post-match interview)

Overall in the tournament, Shafali Verma also had the record for most sixes in the tournament, hitting 7 sixes in 7 matches while scoring 172 runs. She is also known to be the top contender for being the captain of Delhi Capitals Women in the WPL, as she has scored 561 runs across 18 WPL matches at a strike rate of 168.46.