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Coach Amol Muzumdar has spoken about Shafali Verma’s World Cup possibilities after her strong showing against England.
Shafali Verma scored a 41-ball 75 within the fifth T20I vs England (Picture credit: AP)
Indian women’s team head coach Amol Muzumdar has said that despite being dropped from the ODI side, star India opener Shafali Verma could be very much in contention for a spot within the squad for the upcoming World Cup at home, after she scored a 41-ball 75 against England within the fifth T20I on Saturday, July 12.
Dropped after India’s group-stage exit on the T20 World Cup in October, Shafali was recalled for the T20I series against England.
Shafali’s 176 runs at a median of 35.2 and a strike rate of 158.55 included scores of 20, 3, 47, 31 and 75.
On Saturday, Shafali brought up her half-century off just 23 deliveries, the joint second-fastest for India women alongside Smriti Mandhana.
Having helped India go from 19/2 to 167/7, it took the very best successful chase in women’s T20Is in England for the hosts to win it.
In Shafali’s absence, Pratika Rawal has made a large statement. She averages a surprising 63.8 from 11 ODIs since making her debut at home against the Windies in December and might still be the frontrunner to open with Mandhana.
“It just shows that we’ve got a variety of depth now on this India squad. Pratika Rawal was drafted in December, so it’s almost six months, but she has left a mark, a giant mark, in her initial stage in her international profession,” Muzumdar said while speaking on the post-match press conference.
“So I feel there’s a variety of depth on this Indian line-up, headache to have as a training staff. And Shafali has been a terrific player. There’s little doubt that she will probably be in the combination,” Muzumdar added.
The previous Mumbai batter said that he had mixed feelings concerning the undeniable fact that his team had outplayed England in three matches but couldn’t clinch the 2 close ones, resulting in a superb winning margin.
“We had that in our mind once we got here back from Sri Lanka and we began our preparation for this tour. We were on the identical page, all of us, including the selectors, pondering that there’s a World Cup in 2026, same place, in England, so we’ve picked the squad accordingly,” Muzumdar said.
India will play England in the primary ODI on July 16 at Southampton.
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