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India's star batter Shafali Verma has talked about the difficult period she faced after being dropped from India's squad. Shafali Verma recently revealed the emotional toll it took on her and her family, particularly her father who had recently suffered a heart attack. Verma's exclusion from the India women's team squad for Ireland series followed a series of inconsistent performances. The selectors opted to give an opportunity to Pratika Rawal, who has made a strong impression in her early international career.
Shafali Verma reveals how she hid the news of being dropped from India squad from her father
Recalling the challenging time, Verma shared that she hid the news of her exclusion from her father due to his health condition. She prioritised his well-being and chose to shield him from the added stress of her omission from the team.
“It’s not easy to get over it. I didn’t want to reveal because my father had a heart attack about two days before I got dropped from the team. I hid the news from him till he got better. He was in the hospital. I told him a week later,” Shafali told Indian Express.
When Sanjeev Verma, Shafali's father, learned of his daughter's exclusion from the team, he immediately offered words of encouragement. In fact he reminded his daughter of her strengths and urged her to continue working diligently to improve her game.
“Father knows everything. Sometimes as kids even we forget our strengths, but they don’t forget. He reminded me of the workouts and drills from my childhood. These are my strengths, and sometimes you need to work on them to remember how good you are at them,” the India opener added.
Pratika Rawal sizzles with bat in Shafali Verma's absence
Shafali was replaced by Pratika Rawal in the Indian Women's ODI team. Rawal has seized this opportunity with both hands and made a strong impact in her early international career. She made her ODI debut against the West Indies in Vadodara in December 2024. In that series, Rawal impressed with the bat by scoring 134 runs across three matches, averaging an impressive 44.66. This promising start quickly evolved into a spectacular performance in the subsequent series against Ireland.
The 24-year-old opener delivered a truly exceptional performance, amassing a staggering 310 runs in just three matches. This translated to an outstanding average of 103.33 and a commendable strike rate of 108.39. During the series, she clocked one century and two half-centuries. Rawal also formed crucial partnerships with Smriti Mandhana at the top of the order, providing India with strong starts in their innings. Rawal cracked a splendid 154 runs in India's resounding win in the third ODI against Ireland.
Meanwhile, Shafali discussed her commitment to improving her game, particularly focusing on addressing her weaknesses and developing the ability to construct substantial innings.
“The constant work is on areas like when deliveries don’t come to my strengths, how do I take singles, how do I rotate strike, how do I build my innings. Everyone knows my strengths, but the constant goal is to mentally get smarter by learning how to build an innings better,” Shafali concluded.
Since her exclusion from the national team, Shafali Verma is a force to reckon with in domestic cricket. She has exhibited exceptional form, amassing 527 runs in one tournament and 414 runs in another, showcasing her prolific scoring ability in just 12 matches. Verma's aggressive batting style is evident in her impressive strike rates. She has maintained a stunning strike rate of 152.31 in one tournament and 145.26 in the other.
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