Verma became the fifth Indian women cricketer to be a part of England’s 100-ball tournament, The Hundred, having replaced Sophie Devine at Birmingham Phoenix.
India’s teen batting superstar Verma is all set to play in the inaugural edition of The Hundred. The 17-year-old will replace New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine at Birmingham Phoenix. She is also likely to turn up for Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League later this year.
Verma will join her India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma in the 100-ball league involving eight men’s and women’s teams.
The Hundred tournament which was postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is slated to start on July 21 with the women’s match between the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals in London.
Speaking to ANI, a BCCI source who has followed the development closely, confirmed that Shafali is the fifth Indian player to have handed a NOC by the BCCI.
“It is a delightful news not just for Shafali but for Indian women’s cricket that there will be five Indian players in the inaugural edition of The Hundred. She will reunite with her Sydney Sixers coach Ben Sawyer and the experience should help her grow further in what has already been a very positive road forward for the youngster,”
the source said.
The 17-year-old swashbuckling batter has shown that she loves taking on new challenges. Speaking after her scintillating showing in the series against South Africa in March, Shafali had revealed how she trained with the Haryana men’s team to improve her game.
“The reason behind the fast foot movement is the time I spent with the Haryana men’s team ahead of the Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. I cannot thank the Haryana Cricket Association enough for allowing me to train with the team,”
“What it did was that it helped my decision-making power at the crease as I was facing fast bowlers who were touching close to the 140kph mark. So, I had that extra second to decide if I wanted to go back or play off the front foot when I played the T20I series,”
Verma told ANI.
Apart from her batting, Shafali also worked on her fitness and thanked the HCA for helping the players. Shafali said every player was catered to individually, and the HCA ensured every player had the equipment to train with.
If things go as planned and she signs for the Sydney Sixers, Verma will become the fourth Indian to play in the women’s Big Bash League T20 tournament in Australia after Harmanpreet (Sydney Thunder), Mandhana (Brisbane Heat) and Veda Krishnamurthy (Hobart Hurricanes).
Shafali Verma is the number one ranked T20I batter in the world. The Hundred will be the first overseas T20 competition for Shafali, who has emerged as a ruthless striker in world cricket with 617 runs at a strike rate of 148.31 in 22 international matches.
It is unclear why Sophie Devine, who was named the Birmingham Phoenix women’s team captain, opted out of the tournament. Verma will have an opportunity to rub shoulders with one of the legends of the game, Ellyse Perry and also the likes of Ashleigh Gardner and Amy Jones at Birmingham Phoenix.
