Women’s World Cup 2022; Perfect time for Team India to bring out its wildcard

Express News Service

CHENNAI:  As Ashleigh Gardner caught the skier from Poonam Yadav and the roar of 86,000 fans engulfed the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the evening of March 8, 2020, Shafali Verma, who had just turned 16, was inconsolable to the extent that the likes Radha Yadav, Harmanpeet Kaur, and Smriti Mandhana had to assuage her.

The swashbuckling opener was India’s leading run-scorer — 163 runs at 158.25 strike rate, the highest by anyone who had scored over 10 runs — in that T20 World Cup but couldn’t deliver on the most important day.

In the two years since, Verma’s career graph has been through a lot of ups and downs. When India were back on the field against South Africa, she made her presence felt in the T20Is after being left out of the ODIs.

Calls for her inclusion in the 50-over format grew as she stole the limelight on her Test debut on seam-friendly conditions in England with scores of 96 & 63.

However, having made her ODI debut in England, Verma has blown hot and cold, averaging 21.66 from 12 ODIs with two half-centuries.

Although her numbers don’t reflect consistency, the kind of impact she has had among the international teams in her short career was there for everyone to see.

Established international stars spoke highly of the teenager almost every time they came up against her team.

Former India men’s cricketer Ajay Ratra, who has followed the teenage sensation closely, feels that Verma has proven her ability across formats to take many by surprise.

“With experience, any player grows, and she is no different. She was just 15 when she made her debut, but she always had the clarity about the strokes or the brand of attacking cricket she wanted to play. Even when the formats changed, she has improved her defence and worked on her shots as well. People didn’t think that she could do well in Tests, but she has shown that she can be compact,” Ratra told this daily.

In the New Zealand series, the 18-year-old was the senior opener in Smriti Mandhana’s absence. She struggled to get going in seam-friendly conditions and ended up with just one fifty.

A couple of ducks followed in the World Cup warm-ups and the opening game. Verma lost her place in the XI to the in-form Yastika Bhatia, who has done well since.

That said, it might not be the end of the tournament for Verma. As every member of the team has reiterated in the press conferences, she could come back at some point in time. 

India are currently placed third in the points table and need at least two wins from three matches to make it to the semifinals.

Their next game is against Australia, who have steamrolled over every opponent.

With short straight boundaries in Eden Park, Auckland, it is probably the perfect time for India to bring her back into the mix. For she is India’s wildcard brewing to make an impact.

Full story: newindianexpress.com