By Admin 
In a young career, Shafali Verma, all of 21, has already experienced a tumultuous roller-coaster of peaks and troughs.
The journey in the cauldron of international cricket began when she made her T20I debut as a 15-year-old in 2019, and it didn’t take long for her to show she was cut from a different cloth with the explosive nature of her stroke-play. But as time passed and expectations grew, she suffered bouts of inconsistency and indifferent form. Omission from the ODI and T20I teams in November 2024 was an unavoidable consequence.
Though she managed to earn a T20I recall for the tour of England earlier this year through the sheer weight of runs in the Women’s Premier League and the domestic circuit, the stinging blow for the pocket-sized powerhouse from Rohtak came when she was left out of the 15-member squad for the ODI World Cup at home. She wasn’t even included in the stand-by list.
For a girl who went against the grain by taking up cricket with the support of her father in a patriarchal bastion, this was another hurdle to overcome. Little did she know that the chance to do so would come at the business end of the World Cup in the most dramatic of circumstances. With opener Pratika Rawal suffering an ankle injury in the final round-robin game against Bangladesh, Shafali was summoned to spring into action ahead of the semifinals. She duly produced an all-round performance for the ages in the final versus South Africa, slamming 87 at the top of the order to go with two wickets with her part-time off-breaks, as the Indian women’s team lifted the World Cup for the first time at a packed DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
India’s Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur celebrate the wicket of South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp during the Women’s World Cup final.
| Photo Credit:
FILE PHOTO: EMMANUAL YOGINI
On the back of that euphoric evening, Shafali, who also has an Under-19 Women’s World Cup triumph in her kitty, reflects on the see-saw journey, the reception she has received in the past couple of weeks and what the world title could mean for Indian women’s cricket. Excerpts:
The Indian women’s team is now world champion. Firstly, how special does it feel to hear that?
It is very special. It is sinking in slowly and steadily. At the start, it was hard to feel anything. But now I’m coming to terms with everything that has happened. When I had started playing cricket, I had done so with the aim of winning the World Cup one day. Now that we have achieved it, all the players are extremely happy and we have to make a habit of this. We have to keep winning.
There has been a spree of felicitations for the players since winning the World Cup. Can you relive the celebrations on that night in Navi Mumbai?
Everyone’s families had been called for the final. After the win, we all spoke to each other’s families and spent a lot of time with each other. Those who don’t usually dance ended up dancing in celebration. People were willing to step out of their comfort zones and do things they normally don’t. It shows what the win meant to all of us. I’m just thankful to all the people who have felicitated us and shown us so much respect.
How was the reaction of your friends and family when you returned to Rohtak?
It felt so good to return home. It was almost like the whole of Rohtak had turned up to celebrate with me. There were people on the streets who I had never seen before. Everyone said a lot of good things and sent congratulatory messages. It reflects the happiness that people have about us winning the World Cup. I hope to see women’s cricket grow stronger from hereon in India.
Your father has been a key figure in your cricketing journey. What did he tell you? Do you feel his sacrifices are all worth it now?
Yes, definitely. My father wanted to be a cricketer. But he couldn’t because we weren’t financially very strong. He has realised his desires vicariously through his children. When I won the under-19 World Cup, he had said that I have to win the senior World Cup as soon as possible. He wants me to push on now and win more titles.
After winning, the team celebrated with the likes of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami on the pitch. They toiled for many years without being able to cross the final hurdle. What does it personally mean to you to win the World Cup at such a young age?
It’s not that I won it early or late. I believe in hard work. We are very blessed. At a young age, Richa Ghosh and I have already won two trophies. We were telling each other after the final that we shouldn’t be satisfied with this. As far as these former players are concerned, it is because of them that women’s cricket is alive. So, a big thanks to all of them. They kept women’s cricket healthy despite all the struggles back then. We are living in a golden period for Indian women’s cricket. We are fortunate that way.
If Indian women’s cricket has entered a golden period as you say, what have been the contributing factors?
The introduction of the Women’s Premier League and equal match fee for men and women have been very good steps. It has helped women’s cricket grow.
When we play in the WPL, there are a lot of pressure situations that players have to cope with. When we were playing in the World Cup final, there was a lot of pressure on us. But we are now accustomed to seeing so many people watch us. We don’t feel that pressure anymore.
And with better pay, we are able to have our own training facilities, bring in personal trainers and have access to the other things needed for high performance. These things are helping us work on ourselves. Financial stability always helps.
When you were not selected for the World Cup initially, how did you cope? Can you tell us about the emotional graph over the past couple of months?
I was feeling very sad to be missing out on such a big tournament on home turf. But I accepted it and moved ahead. I thought I should focus on whatever matches I am playing. In the past one year since being dropped from the Indian team, I worked a lot on myself. That hard work has paid off.
When I was called up as an injury replacement for Pratika, I wanted to win at least one match for the team on my ability. I was able to do that in the final. I am very glad that I set aside everything and focused on myself. If I hadn’t focused on myself for a year, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did in the final.
Can you take us through the things you worked on away from the spotlight?
I have worked a lot on the mental aspect. As a batter, if you are mentally strong, you can win 90% of the matches. Physically too, I have worked a lot on my body.
As you must have seen in the final, I was trying to play the ball along the ground as much as possible. That was something I was trying to execute over the past year. I can pat myself on the back and tell myself I have done well. But I don’t want to stop. I have to keep going.
You say that you want to make winning a habit. Can India reach the level of Australia where it regularly dominates world events?
If we improve individually, we will improve as a team. I think we should focus on ourselves and see how we can improve. As far as the Australian team is concerned, you all know that they have many experienced players. They know how to handle pressure and control their minds.
We are also going on the same path. We want to be mentally strong like them. In terms of skill, India is better than many teams. But mentally, I personally feel we are inferior to Australia. If we all grow mentally, we will become a different team altogether.
In terms of your own game, what can we expect going forward?
I have already got the reward for the work I have done in the last year. If I keep putting in the work, hopefully you will see a different Shafali. I want to be someone who is consistent and faces all the pressures and keeps performing. It is to achieve this that I want to continue to work hard. Hopefully, I will be able to show that to all of you.