The only women’s team to have an ICC trophy is the U-19 team, led by a youthful Shafali Verma in the competition’s 2023 edition—which was actually its inaugural season. Verma clarified the team’s goal heading into the competition and discussed how it felt to lift the title.
India In women’s cricket, women have traditionally been viewed as a dominant force. Though they have frequently appeared in the final and semi-final stages of competitions, they have not, however, had any silverware to display from the 50-over or 20-over events.
“Obviously, the fact that we won an ICC trophy was really significant for Indian women’s cricket. I will draw confidence from it, which was the greatest moment of my life, in order to help us win the T20 World Cup this year as well. Right now, winning the [World Cup] trophy is our top priority. The game includes records and individual goals. However, Verma said, “There’s no better feeling than your team winning, and those nights, I get good sleep.”
The first hitter also discussed how, compared to when she first began out, she now approaches her innings in a different way.
“I used to just go out and hit when I first started my career, but I’ve since made some mental changes. I can now play along the ground and block a few deliveries in addition to the game. Once you adjust your mental approach to the game, you become more reliable. “I want to continue being this consistent and perform well for the team,” Verma said.
Although I’m only 20, I want to improve based on what I’ve learnt over the past three to four years: Shafali Verma
A progressive Verma also talked openly about how her first two Women’s T20 World Cup tournaments did not go as planned, but instead taught her the hard way how important it was to maintain consistency in run-scoring.
“I used to chase after every ball during my first World Cup, the 2020 T20 World Cup. Such an approach might be effective early in your career, but eventually the competition will begin to analyse your footage and figure out your strengths and shortcomings. Even if I didn’t perform well in the 2023 T20 World Cup, I still gained a lot of knowledge from it. People are now mentioning that I’ve become more constant, and during the past three to four years, I’ve realised how crucial consistency is. Even at twenty, I want to improve from what I’ve learnt over the past three to four years,” Verma continued.
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In the previous two seasons, Verma scored 102 in 2023 and 163 in 2020 in five innings each. One of the many things that would need to go perfectly for the Indian side to win would be for Verma to click at the top of the order.
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