Shafali Verma, the icon of India's daring future | 100% Cricket Superstars
The International Cricket Council has announced the first five players selected as 100% Cricket Superstars ahead of a historic month for women’s cricket, culminating in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Sophie Ecclestone (England), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Shafali Verma (India) and Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) are the first crop of what will ultimately be a 100% Cricket Superstars squad that fans can pick from to decide on a final XI.
Here, we feature India prodigy Shafali Verma.
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All of 18 years old, Shafali Verma has built a reputation as one of the most explosive and dangerous players in the game right now.
Verma became the youngest player to represent India when she made her international debut in 2019 aged just 15. Earmarked as a generational talent, the expectations were sky-high and Verma, with her flair and her daring, has so far surpassed them all.
Her audacity with the bat is something the Indian women’s team had rarely seen before. But what has increasingly made her dangerous for opposition bowlers is her improving in-game nous.
The twin half-centuries on her Test debut, against England in Bristol last year, demonstrated how far the dashing batter has come. She scored 66 and 96, showing that her attacking brand of cricket could successfully translate to red-ball cricket. She went on to score a half-century against Australia in Carrara in a Test later that year to solidify her class.
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Rankings Snapshot
– No.5 in Women’s T20I Batter Rankings
– No.36 in Women’s ODI Batter Rankings
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For all her Test achievements, there’s no taking away from the fact that the shorter the format, the more dangerous Verma is. She made her mark in her very first overseas tour (against West Indies) with consecutive T20I fifties, thus becoming the youngest half-centurion, male or female, in Indian cricket history.
The very next year, she showed the same unshakable confidence on the world stage, finishing as India’s highest run-getter in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, playing a vital role in their journey to the final. She ended the tournament with 163 runs in five matches, striking at 158.25, giving the world a glimpse of the impact that she could have on the big stage.
Her achievements already include becoming the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings, at the age of 16. But it’s the gumption and fearlessness with which she bats that has drawn admirers from the world over.
And with years of international cricket in front of her, she is just getting started.
Frankie Mackay says
“I think everyone in world cricket wishes they could play cricket like her. She is just 18 and finding a way to dominate any level of cricket she plays in. She is just prepared to take teams on. She is prepared to take anyone on.
"The thing that stands out for me is the swagger – the confidence she's got, the collar popped up, the necklaces on. She seems to get under the skin of pretty much every fast bowler going around the circuit as well.
"(She) seldom gets caught up in the war of words, isn't that kind of player at all. But just gives you a look that says, 'I am going to get the better of you today. I am up for the contest.'"