Coach Ashwani recalls the early days of the daughter of a small-time Rohtak goldsmith, Sanjeev Verma who was obsessed with making his daughter a world-class cricketer. Since the time she was five, the father, at the break of dawn, would wake up Shafali Verma. Then, they would play cricket wherever they could. Later, at Ashwani’s academy, she kept smashing the ball to all parts despite playing against boys between the ages of 15 and 18, the coach says. Her quick starts have seen India maintain an all-win record in Australia.
