People in Rohtak used to ask: what could a girl do, reveals Shafali Verma
India’s 15-year-old sensation, Shafali Verma, has revealed that she is would be taunted during her childhood days being a girl who expressed her interest in playing professional cricket. Shafali became India’s youngest debutant when she featured for India against South Africa in the T20I series.
Although she grew up idolising Sachin Tendulkar and watching the style of play Virender Sehwag exhibited, the people around her in Rohtak were not enthused by the idea of a girl taking up cricket. She was only nine when she made the journey to Lahli to watch her idol Sachin play his last Ranji Trophy match — the Master Blaster smashed an unbeaten 79 in the second innings to guide Mumbai to a four-wicket victory against host Haryana.
“They would ask: what could a girl do? I had long braids at that time; I chopped them off, and for a couple of months they probably did not realise that I was a girl as I trained with boys,” Shafali told Sportstar.
“The television would be switched off at our home when he (Sachin) got out. My father and brother are also big cricket fans and used to play too. I also like Virat Kohli. I have always had great respect for attacking batsmen like Virender Sehwag,” Shafali said.
To her great credit, and India’s luck, she came back home that day, determined and wanting to play in front of such a crowd one day. And a few days ago, she played in front of a crowd of over 15,000 at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat and smashed 46 off 33 balls to star in India’s 51-run win over South Africa in the fourth T20I.
“I was determined to see off the opening overs and wanted to make a good score in the match. I want to play more such innings for India. I was hoping that I would get a chance in this series. I also felt that I could be selected for the Women’s T20 Challenge at Jaipur a few months ago,” she said.
She further added that she enjoyed her experience playing alongside some of the biggest names in women’s cricket, during her 31-ball 34 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
“I enjoyed that experience at Jaipur. Playing against foreigners and India seniors helped me greatly. I am also happy that I have been part of the Indian team that had Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana. Those three are great batters,” Shafali added.
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