Shafali Verma hopes to support her team through thick and thin, the way she’s seen Harmanpreet Kaur do in the senior team, when she leads the India’s U-19 team for the inaugural edition of the U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
In her three years in international career, backing talented players is the most important thing that Shafali has learnt from Harmanpreet.
“Harry di (Harmanpreet) always backs talented players. That’s the best thing about her, and I’ll learn that from her. When I was down, she helped me a lot, and I always thank her for that. I just want to give the team as good a start as possible and meet their expectations. I get to learn a lot from her,” Shafali said on Friday. “The way she sets the field, rotates the bowling, I keep learning from her. I’ve been speaking to her about how to lead the (India U-19) team…”
Currently busy with the ongoing Women’s T20I against Australia, Shafali and Richa Ghosh will join the U-19 camp in Bengaluru next week before travelling to South Africa, and being the captain, Shafali has already been communicating with her U-19 team-mates via WhatsApp and phone calls.
“We have formed a WhatsApp group, so I am talking to everyone, and when we join the camp, we will get to know them and interact better,” Shafali said. Neither she nor Richa were part of the U-19 side in its last two home assignments, but the captain feels that won’t be a problem as she already knows quite a few players.
Once she reaches Bengaluru, her first target will be to interact with Shweta Sehrawat - her deputy for the T20 World Cup. Sehrawat led the U-19 side in the last home series against New Zealand. “I would want to ask the former captain about how the team fared and listen to her observations rather than walking up to the players individually. The captain is someone who would know everything about the team, so interacting with her will help,” Shafali said.
The U-19 camp starts on December 18, but both Shafali and Richa will miss out on the first three days as they would be featuring in the senior women’s series against Australia. “My aim is to go step by step. Right now, I am thinking about how to finish the Australia series and win it. I am trying to give my 100 per cent in the remaining two matches so that I can head into the World Cup high on confidence. I am very excited…”
Much before Shafali broke into the senior women’s team, her father, Sanjeev Verma, dreamt of Shafali leading the U-19 India team someday. When she was informed that she would have to lead the side, her father was also excited. “When the team was announced, I got to know that I will lead. My dad was very happy as he always dreamed of me leading the U-19 side,” she said. “I would want to give my best and would want to make all the U-19 girls feel comfortable…”
So far in her career, Shafali has played under quite a few captains and now that she has been handed the big responsibility, she wants to make the most of the opportunity, ensuring that she can get the best out of the players.
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