Shafali Verma, the explosive Indian women’s T20I opener, spoke about her continued absence from the ODI team and promised to improve her fitness in order to break into the 50-over outfit.
Verma has been outstanding for India in the game’s shortest version, with 617 runs to her name from 22 outings at a strike-rate of 148.31. But is yet to make her international debut in the ODIs.
She reclaimed the No.1 spot in the ICC T20I rankings on Tuesday. Varma celebrated the occasion with a superb knock of 60 from 30 balls against South Africa.
Verma’s brilliance on the night helped India achieve a consolation win in the third and final match. A 2-1 defeat was the first one for India in T20Is. Verma later received the ‘Player of the Series’ for being the top run-maker, having scored 130 runs from her 3 innings at a fantastic strike-rate of 156.63.
Verma has been one of the stand-out batters in women’s cricket since her T20I debut against South Africa back in 2019 in Surat. Soon, the then 16-year-old made the world sit-up and take notice of her when she got selected for the T20 World Cup in Australia and ended as the country’s top-scorer and fifth overall in the tournament. Verma, now 17, made 163 runs from five innings at a strike-rate of 158.25 and was key to India reaching the final, where they lost to Australia.
Verma’s inclusion in the T20Is has helped India make quickfire starts and lay a solid foundation for their scores. It had also reduced the load off Smriti Mandhana’s shoulders as, before Verma, India depended heavily on their vice-captain at the top of the order.
Curiously, the team management and the selectors have been hesitant to adopt the same strategy in the 50-over game. Despite the ODI World Cup being scheduled in New Zealand in 12 months, Verma wasn’t given the nod for the ODIs against South Africa.
It is believed that the decision-makers don’t want to overburden a player who is still only 17 but to focus on the T20Is for now. However, Verma feels she has work to do on her game and fitness to stake a claim in the ODI squad.
When I wasn’t picked for the one-dayers, I felt somewhere I might be lacking something,
Verma told an online press conference after India’s nine-wicket win in the third T20I.
When asked if she has discussed her omission from the ODI team with the leadership group to pick up clues on things that she might still need to work on, Verma said,
I did not go ask the captain or the coach, because I knew deep down that if my name was not there, it is probably because I only lack something. So, I think, I need to work more on my fitness, and [getting picked for] one-days would be my goal – whenever I get that chance. Not getting named in the one-day squad is a motivation for me, really, to play even better and break into the ODI side. That’s all was on my mind.
I wasn’t overly disappointed but I saw it as a huge motivating factor. I motivated myself to work even harder and play ever better so that I can make it to the one-day side,
she added.
One of the areas that held back the Indian team in their 4-1 ODI series defeat to South Africa in Lucknow was opening the batting. Verma could thus prove a valuable addition to the side by blazing her willow in the powerplay overs and setting her team on the way to strong totals. While opening the innings seems Verma’s ideal role, she is willing to bat wherever India need her to.
Actually, If I get a chance to play in the one-dayers, at whichever [spot in the batting] order, I’d like to play as long an innings as possible and score well for India,
she signed off.
