India women’s head coach Amol Muzumdar has confirmed that opener Shafali Verma remains firmly in contention for a place in the squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup at home, despite being left out of the side for the England series.
Shafali was dropped after India’s early exit from the T20 World Cup in October but earned a recall for the recent T20I series against England, following a string of impressive domestic performances.
The 20-year-old scored 176 runs in the five-match series at an average of 35.2 and an impressive strike rate of 158.5. Her standout performance came in the final T20I on Saturday, where she smashed 75 off just 41 deliveries.
However, while Shafali was featuring in the T20Is, the squad for the ODI series was announced — and her name was missing. In her place, India opted for Pratika Rawal, who boasts an outstanding average of 63 from 11 ODIs. Rawal is expected to open alongside Smriti Mandhana in the upcoming 50-over games.
“It just shows that we’ve got a lot of depth now in this India squad. Pratika Rawal was drafted in December, so it’s almost six months, but she has left a mark, a big mark, in her initial stage in her international career,” Muzumdar said while speaking at the post-match press conference. “So I think there’s a lot of depth in this Indian line-up, a good headache to have as a coaching staff. And Shafali has been a terrific player. There’s no doubt that she will be in the mix.”
Shafali last played an ODI against New Zealand in Ahmedabad and has now been selected for the India A tour of Australia. The upcoming tour presents a crucial opportunity for her to make a strong case for selection ahead of the World Cup later this year.
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