On the eve of the U-19 Women’s World Cup final, India coach Nooshin Al Khadeer called captain Shafali Verma for a conversation. The two spoke for a while, discussing the strategy for Sunday’s summit clash against England.
Towards the end of the conversation, as Shafali was heading back to join her teammates, Nooshin told her, “I could not win the World Cup here (in South Africa) in 2005, but I want you to lift the trophy tomorrow…”
A former India international, Nooshin was a member of the India women’s team that reached the final of the Women’s World Cup in 2005 before going down to Australia in Centurion. And despite making it to the finals a few times, India’s women’s teams could not break the title jinx in an ICC event, and Nooshin pinned her hopes on Shafali and gang.
Her wards fulfilled Nooshin’s dreams by defeating England in the final and clinching the inaugural edition of the U-19 T20 World Cup.
“I thought of her words when I took the field and everyday, and she keeps making me understand new things everyday. She has helped the team a lot and she is a very good coach,” a teary-eyed Shafali said in the post-match interaction with the media.
“She knows how to motivate a player and how to motivate a team. I would want to meet her again, and I am going to miss her as a coach,” Shafali said.
Shafali turned 19 on Saturday, and it was a perfect gift for the youngster. While she was happy to have created history, the Indian team also had a long session with Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra ahead of the game. “He (Chopra) motivated us a lot. He shared his experiences with us and that was very important ahead of the final. He told us that we have come so far battling the odds, and that’s why we should give our 100 per cent in the final. His words motivated us, and we learned a lot from him,” the captain said.
Shafali also dedicated the title to her father for helping her throughout her career and after guiding India to a historic title win, Shafali’s focus now shifts to the Women’s World Cup, which begins in South Africa on February 10.
“All this while, my focus was on the U-19 World Cup and winning the title. We did that. When I join the senior team on February 3, I would want to take this victory as a confidence booster and will hope to win the senior women’s T20 World Cup. I would try to focus on the next World Cup and get accustomed to the conditions,” she said.
In 2020, soon after losing the T20 World Cup final to Australia in Melbourne, Shafali could not control her tears, and on Sunday, after scripting history, she was again teary-eyed. “In 2020, it was tears of sorrow, but today, it was tears of joy and happiness. We could achieve what we came here for. I tried controlling my tears, but couldn’t,” she said with a smile.
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