3 reasons why Shafali Verma could define India's campaign at the Women's T20 World Cup 2023

Shafali Verma recently led India to victory in the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. She is now part of the senior team that is featuring in the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa. India Women kick off their campaign on Sunday, February 12, when they lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan Women in a high-voltage clash at Newlands in Cape Town.

With senior opener and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana being ruled out of the match against Pakistan due to a finger injury, there will be additional responsibility on Shafali to deliver the goods.

The aggressive right-handed batter turned 19 last month, but already has the experience of playing 51 T20Is, scoring 1231 runs at a strike rate of 134.53, with five half-centuries.

Senior pros like skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Mandhana and all-rounder Deepti Sharma are expected to be key to India’s fortunes at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. However, we look at three reasons why Shafali could define India's campaign at the ICC event.

---

#1 Shafali Verma will be inspired after the U19 World Cup triumph

The opener led India U19 Women to victory in the inaugural U19 Women's World Cup. Pic: Getty Images

As mentioned earlier, Shafali recently led India to victory in the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. As such, she would be high on confidence going into the senior World Cup tournament. Having tasted success at the U19 level, she will now be inspired to achieve glory on a bigger platform.

While cricket is a physical sport, the mental aspect also matters quite a lot. With the U19 victory still fresh in her mind, the young gun is expected to be in the zone during the ongoing T20 World Cup. And if she can carry that confidence from the U19 triumph into the World Cup, there's nothing better for India.

Speaking after India defeated England by seven wickets in the U19 World Cup final, Shafali asserted:

“I will look to take this winning confidence with me and win the senior World Cup. I will try and forget this and get involved with the senior setup and gel with the team and win the World Cup.”

The fact that the U19 World Cup was also held in South Africa will give her additional confidence with regard to the psychological aspect of having been there and done that.

---

#2 She could give India a big advantage with her flying starts

India will miss Smriti Mandhana’s services against Pakistan. Pic: Getty Images

If Shafali gets going with the bat, she could give India Women a big advantage. It goes without saying that when she scores, she does it very quickly. She can demoralize the opposition with her brute force. And because she bats at the top of the order, Shafali has the chance to set up games for India at the T20 World Cup.

The 19-year-old swashbuckling opener’s talent was on display in the first half of the U19 World Cup. She clobbered 45 off only 16 balls against South Africa and 78 off 34 deliveries against the UAE. Shafali, of course, is not expected to have it as easy at the senior World Cup, but even if she plays some blazing cameos, it can make a difference for the team.

If we look at her T20I career so far, the youngster has played some impressive knocks. She hammered 73 off 49 against West Indies in 2019, the same year that she made her international debut. Shafali also smashed 60 off 30 against South Africa in Lucknow in March 2021 and 49 off 28 versus the Aussies in Melbourne in February 2020.

There is no doubt that Shafali has the talent to take the cricketing world by storm. But the challenge for her will be to come up with big performances on the grand stage against the very best.

---

#3 Her inconsistency could hurt India’s campaign

The Indian opener has registered low scores in recent matches. Pic: Getty Images

If Shafali’s success could define India’s campaign at the T20 World Cup, her failures could hurt the team in equally big measure. Keeping talent aside, the Haryana youngster’s presence in the Indian side is like a double-edged sword. She can be brilliant on her day, but her track record so far proves that consistency is not yet her forte.

This weakness of hers was evident during the U19 World Cup as well. After a couple of swashbuckling knocks against South Africa and the UAE, she completely went off to the boil. Her subsequent scores in the tournament read one, eight, 15, 10, and 15. Even in the two warm-up matches for the ongoing T20 World Cup, she was dismissed for single-figure scores.

The story has been similar for Shafali in her T20I career - she averages 24.62 after 51 games. Considering that she bats at the top of the order for India, the youngster's contribution will be extremely crucial. Hence, if she gets on a low-scoring spree, India Women are bound to suffer the consequences in a big way.

---