News of Shafali Verma hammering 75 from 41 balls in the fifth women’s T20I at Edgbaston has re-ignited the chat around India’s ODI World Cup squad – and, frankly, it was hard to ignore. The right-hander, still only 21, finished the England series with 176 runs at a strike-rate touching 159, second only to Smriti Mandhana. Handy numbers for a player who was left out after last year’s T20 World Cup exit.
India edged the five-match series 3–2, yet Shafali’s two biggest contributions – 47 at The Oval and that 75 in Birmingham – came in defeats decided off the final ball. On Saturday night she reached her half-century in 23 deliveries, equalling Mandhana for India’s second-quickest; only Richa Ghosh’s 18-ball blitz against West Indies sits ahead of them.
Afterwards head coach Amol Muzumdar was asked whether the opener is back in the 50-over picture. His reply was short, almost casual, but crystal clear. “There’s no doubt about it that she will be in the mix. She will be amongst the core group of India.” A touch later he added: “Shafali has been a terrific player.” Nothing ambiguous there.
Yet selection is never that straight-forward. Pratika Rawal, preferred at the top since December, averages 63.80 from her first eleven ODIs, including a 154 against Ireland and five fifties. Muzumdar called it “a good headache”, noting Rawal only joined the set-up six months ago but has “left a mark, a big mark”.
Rawal is in the squad for the three-match ODI leg that starts in Southampton on Wednesday; Shafali isn’t. Still, the World Cup is at home from 30 September, so there’s time for things to shift. India have already shown they’re willing to shuffle the order if form demands it.
The T20Is also highlighted another emerging piece: Shree Charani, the left-arm spinner plucked from the WPL. Charani claimed ten wickets at 14.80 on debut series, earning Player of the Series. Her 4 for 12 in the opener set the tone; conceding 35 without success in the finale did little to dull Muzumdar’s enthusiasm. “From the WPL, we identified her and then I think her progress has been fantastic, she’s been phenomenal in this series.” India have long searched for a reliable slow left-armer; early signs suggest they might finally have one.
England, for their part, chased 168 in that fifth game – the highest successful pursuit in women’s T20Is on home soil – thanks largely to a 101-run stand between Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley. It took the very last ball again. That says two things: India are posting competitive totals, and England, even missing a couple of regular bowlers, still possess the batting depth to hunt them down.
How does all this translate to 50-over cricket? Different tempo, different demands. Batting power-play overs in ODIs still reward up-front aggression, though, and Shafali offers exactly that. Her critics point to inconsistency; supporters mention match-ups, natural evolution, and the belief that a player who changes games in forty minutes is worth the odd failure.
As ever, the numbers only tell part of the story. Shafali’s presence appears to lift Mandhana, who enjoys the freedom that comes when fielders are pushed back early. It also shifts pressure away from India’s middle order, an area that wobbled during last year’s global tournaments.
There’s also the intangible factor. A World Cup at home can be suffocating; selectors often favour players who’ve experienced that glare before. Shafali ticks that box, having played the 2020 T20 World Cup final in front of 86,000 in Melbourne.
Plenty will hinge on how Rawal fares against England’s 50-over attack this week, and then on India’s short tour of Sri Lanka next month, where Shafali is expected to return. For now, the door is open, the conversation live, and the runs on the board.
Cricket rarely offers perfect clarity, yet sometimes a bat does the talking. Over the weekend, Shafali’s was positively loud.
