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India's explosive opener Shafali Verma is "flexible" to bat anywhere the management asks her to in the Women's World Cup semi-final fixture against the defending champions Australia. The 21-year-old revealed the key to India's victory would be to avoid losing early wickets with the bat and maintain good lengths with the ball.
A couple of days ago, Shafali was with the Haryana team in Surat, competing in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy. On Monday, Shafali emerged as a late call-up after being named as the replacement for the injured Pratika Rawal. On the eve of the fixture, Shafali is "super ready" to help India conquer the world champions while batting at any spot. "That's a management call [if they want to play me tomorrow]. But if you ask me, I'm flexible. I can play anywhere, not just as an opener or in the middle order. The confidence I have in myself is very important as a sportsperson. So wherever the management wants me to play, I'm super ready," Shafali said while speaking to reporters as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. In 60 matches between the two sides, Australia has emerged as the favourite with 49 wins, while India has 11. Shafali, who has faced Australia 25 times, explained the plan India needs to follow to topple Australia. "Like I said, I've played against Australia many times. I know that if we don't lose early wickets as a batting unit, they start to feel the pressure. As a bowling unit, we'll look to maintain good lengths, and as batters, we'll back our strengths. The simpler we keep things, the better it'll be. The less we panic, the better we'll perform. So yes, we'll back ourselves and keep things simple," she said. "Absolutely, if you look at this World Cup, everyone has given their best. We've made it to the semi-finals, and everyone knows that we have to give 200 per cent because there's no second chance -- it's a knockout. We've all prepared really well over the last few days, and hopefully, we'll perform well," Shafali added. When Shafali was dropped from the Indian team in October 2024, consistency was a concern. However, since then, she has put in the hard yards in the domestic circuit to rediscover her form. She captained Haryana to a quarter-final finish in the one-day competition and finished at the top of the run-scoring chart with a tally of 527 at a blistering strike rate of 152.31. Following her return, the message from the dressing room has backed Shafali to play her natural game. "All the players I've spoken to have boosted my confidence a lot, which means a lot to me. The coach, captain, and even Smriti [Mandhana] told me that I just need to play my game, there's no pressure. I just have to play the way I know, without panicking. So yes, I've been given a lot of freedom, and I'll try to respect the good balls and hit the ones in my range," Shafali said. (ANI)
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