When the five-team Women’s Premier League (WPL 2023) kicks out in Navi Mumbai on March 4 (Saturday), history will be created. Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC), and UP Warriorz (WPW) are the five teams competing in the first WPL season (GG). RCB’s women’s squad will be led by opener Smriti Mandhana, MI has picked India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur as its captain. Meg Lanning, Australia’s successful captain, will be leading the Delhi Capitals; meanwhile, Beth Mooney has been appointed captain of the Gujarat Giants. Alyssa Healy, an Australian batter and wicketkeeper, is leading UPW in the WPL 2023.
Delhi Capitals women have reliable batters in their squad. But they need a batter who could score at a brisk pace and take the attack to the opposition. Shafali Verma is the perfect candidate who could change the match on its head due to her quick and explosive innings.
Fearless
Shefali Verma became well-known during the exhibition game that was played during the tail end of the IPL 2019. While she didn’t score many runs when batting at the top of the order, her enormous confidence and clarity in shot selection amazed everyone. She had amazing audacity for a 15-year-old. Her attacking style is like that of the Indian legend Virender Sehwag.
She is just 19 years old but has already featured in 2 World Cups in 2020 and 2023 (U19 World Cup). She looked at ease while playing the senior bowlers and often gave a blistering start to India since her debut. On her day, she can tear apart any bowling lineup.
She is a perfect foil to Jemimah Rodrigues and Meg Lanning. Both the batters can play around Shafali as the 19-year-old can play her natural game and perform without pressure. In T20Is, the batter plays with a strike rate of 132.11 and has scored 1333 runs.
Clever part timer
Shafali is a clever part time off spinner and can chip in with crucial 1-2 overs. She is street smart and thinks like a batter when she bowls. She quickly adapts to the pitch and dimensions of the ground and bowls accordingly.
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