Mumbai: Adversity can unearth latent skills in people. Ask Shafali Verma. Even at her lowest ebb, dropped from the 2025 home ODI World Cup, Shafali was manifesting how she would bowl in international cricket. Upskilling her batting, however, is second nature.
Shafali enjoys talking about her bowling more than her batting these days.
As the 22-year-old freak talent that she is, Shafali terms bowling “easy” compared to batting.
“I enjoy bowling more than my batting, I don’t know why,” she said in a media interaction, basking in the glow of winning India’s first gold in the Asian Games. “With batting, it takes just one ball to get out. But with bowling you get a chance to come back. I feel bowling is easier. Not saying it to bowlers, but that’s what I feel.”
Shafali has delivered 41.2 overs for India in T20Is this year. That’s sizeable enough for a batting match winner to be bracketed as an allrounder. After her crucial spell (7-0-36-2) in last year’s ODI World Cup final against South Africa, the team management was as convinced as her of Shafali’s off-breaks.
With the bat, Shafali has been both destructive and consistent. Again, she drew from self-learning while kept away from the limelight. For Shafali, not being picked for India’s first-choice ODI World Cup squad left an emotional wound. To Indian cricket’s benefit, she emerged stronger from the experience.
{{/usCountry}}With the bat, Shafali has been both destructive and consistent. Again, she drew from self-learning while kept away from the limelight. For Shafali, not being picked for India’s first-choice ODI World Cup squad left an emotional wound. To Indian cricket’s benefit, she emerged stronger from the experience.
{{/usCountry}}“I worked very hard on my mental preparations,” she said. “I had always been working on skill levels. But, sometimes I would play bad shots that would hurt my team. I have added a lot more control to my game.”
It has shown in terms of results. No other batter has scored more runs than the bomber from Rohtak (863 runs) in T20Is, this year. And of course, topping the strike rate (162.83) charts comes naturally to her.
Calling her first T20I hundred in the Asian Games semi-final against Bangladesh her happiest moment, Shafali was particularly pleased as she also batted through the innings. “When I got to my 100, my hard work for all these years came in front of my eyes. It was quite an emotional moment. It was my happiest moment. I hope I can create that moment again and again,” said Shafali, who is a JSW athlete.
Shafali discusses her game only with her family - father Sanjeev, who backed her when no one else did and brother Sahil, who she once disguised as to play an all-boys tournament. “I don’t get an answer to my batting from any coach. I get that from my father and brother,” she said. “They help me a lot with my cricket. In 2025, my brother and I analysed my batting a lot. I made notes of how I can play better.”
There’s one line Shafali has picked up through her travels that has driven her transformation. “When the ball is not in your range, take your time.Soon, the same balls will go for fours and sixes. I have learned to take my time,” she said.