The Indian women’s cricket team continues to break records in Ireland, while explosive batter Shefali Verma watches the matches from home. Considered one of the brightest prospects for the team, Shafali was omitted from the squad due to a series of underwhelming performances. However, she has demonstrated a strong desire to learn from her experiences and improve as a player. Reflecting on her exclusion, Shafali shared that she chose not to inform her father about it since he had suffered a heart attack just two days prior.
During the ODI series against New Zealand, where she played three matches, Shafali’s contributions included scores of 33, 11, and 12. Following these results, selectors opted to replace her with Pratika Rawal, who has made an immediate impact at the top order with impressive statistics: one century and three half-centuries in just six outings.
“Dealing with this situation hasn’t been easy for me,” stated Shafali in an interview with Indian Express. “I didn’t mention my removal because my father had his heart attack shortly before I learned of my exclusion. I kept it from him until he recuperated; I only told him about it a week later.”
Now that her father is recovering well, he remains actively involved in encouraging his daughter to refine her skills and work towards regaining her spot on the national team.
“My father understands everything,” remarked Shafali. “Sometimes we forget our own strengths as young athletes – but parents never do.” She added that he often reminds her of childhood workouts and drills. “These are my strengths; revisiting them helps reaffirm how capable I truly am.”
Since dropping out of the national team, she has played in two domestic tournaments, in which she scored a total of 527 and 414 runs in 12 matches. The young batter knows what she needs to work on.
Points of Focus constantly revolve around when deliveries do not meet my strengths. How do I take singles? How do I rotate the strike? How do I build an innings? Everyone knows what I can do, but the constant push is to learn how to build an innings mentally,” she further added.
