.svg){kind=small}
Shafali Verma is a professional Indian woman cricketer who became the youngest player to take part in the Women’s T20 International match for India. From 2017, she has been playing for Haryana Women’s team, and from 2019, she has started to play for the Indian Women’s team. Further, Shafali is a part of the Delhi Capital Women in WPL (Women’s Premier League). In all three formats of the Women’s international cricket, she has showcased her batting prowess.
Since childhood, Shafali Verma had a strong passion for cricket. She had to initially start playing cricket in the disguise of a boy as she did not find any cricket academy for girls in her city. She joined the Ram Narayan Cricket Club, Rohtak in 2016. Her phenomenal skills helped her to get promoted to the Elite Group where she practiced along with the Ranji Trophy, Under-19, and Under-23 players.
Ashwani Kumar, Shafali Verma’s coach, said in an interview that the players generally start gathering stroke-playing skills at the age of 15. However, Shafali is naturally gifted with the power.
In 2019, she was chosen in the Indian women’s International cricket. In September 2019, she made her debut in WT20I (Women’s Twenty20 International) against the South African women’s team. She transcended a year-old record set by Sachin Tendulkar within a few weeks of her debut. She scored 73 runs out of 49 balls in a T20 match against West Indies. With this, she became the youngest player to make fifty for India.
Later, she was chosen in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that was held in 2020 where she became number one batsman owing to her impeccable performance. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket In India has awarded her a central contract. Shafali has made a run of 700 at the strike rate of 141 in twenty-nine T20I matches. Shafali was chosen for ODI women’s international cricket and Test cricket. On 16 June 2021, she made her debut in the test match against the England women’s team where she made 96 runs and was declared as the player of the match.
Next, in June 2021, Shafali played the One Day Women’s International for the first time. She led the Indian women's cricket team and bagged the winning trophy of the U-19 T20 World Cup.
She has mentioned in interviews and has also posted on social media platforms that Sachin Tendulkar is her inspiration. He is the one who has prompted her to take the game and give her best to take her country forward. She is also a big admirer of AB de Villiers. Even her attacking style as an opener is an artefect of the legacy of Virender Sehwag.
Shafali Verma is a right-handed cricket player who started to play cricket at a tender age and made her international debut at the age of 15, becoming the first Indian woman cricketer to do so. She does a notable job as a right-arm offbreak-bowler.
Shafali’s consistent performances and power-packed hitting has attracted attention. Her batting skill displayed praiseworthy gumption for a 15-year-old girl. Her confidence and in-shop selection clarity are impressive. Her career graph is heading upwards traversing all the formats and series and it is rightly said that Shafali Verma is India’s next cricket superstar.
FAQs
When did Shafali make her WPL debut?
Shafali Verma made her WPL (Women’s Premier League) on 5th March 2023 where she played against Royal Challengers Bangalore Women and scored 84 runs.
Where was Shafali Verma born? What is the name of her parents?
Shafali Verma was born on 28th January 2004 in Rohtak, Haryana. The name of her father is Sanjeev Verma and her mother is Praveen Bala.
In which year, Shafali Verma became the captain of the Haryana Women’s U-19 cricket team?
Shafali Verma became the captain of the Haryana Women’s U-19 cricket team in 2018. She led her state in many domestic tournaments. Later, she became the captain of the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup 2023.
