Shafali Verma practices with U25 Men’s bowlers

It is just two years that a 17-year-old Shafali Verma has stepped into the roster of international cricket and she is already aware of the kind of constant development that an international cricketer needs to adapt. Her immediate focus, however, is to hone her ability to play short balls.

She made her national debut at the tender age of 15 years and continues to impress with every passing day as her opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana has been one of the best parts of Indian women’s cricket in the last couple of years.

When she travelled to England and Australia, she was smoked with short balls and she seemed to be in discomfort. In order to overcome this strident shortcoming of her, she has decided to practice against U-25 men’s players who have been bowling at her almost 200-250 deliveries every day, clocking clicks between 125-130.

This entire process has been happening under the wary eyes of her coach, Ashwani Kumar at the Shri Ram Narain Cricket Academy.

After being strapped with the brand ambassadorship of a car brand, she was heard quoting to PTI, “It feels good that I have been able to complete two years in international cricket but there is a long way to go. I know the areas of my game I need to get better at and one of them is playing the short ball. The coaches have also told me to play as per the ball and I will continue to do that. I will never change my game.”

During the England and Australia series, she was bathed with a barrage of short balls where she wasn’t convincing enough despite being an aggressive striker of the ball. The process of her practice against short balls is happening on cement pitches, astroturfs and normal tracks. Alongside the menacing pace from the men’s practice session, she is also being subjected to throwdowns.

Shafali is also working on her fitness, as she quoted, “I won't back away that much going forward. You will see me shuffling around the crease a lot more and play as per the merit of the ball.”

Her coach, Ashwani Kumar is confident that she will be getting better with time and in order to carry on with the development, she is being subjected to more austere conditions so that when the reality crashes, she can play her knocks without fear.

Ashwani was heard quoting, “We must not forget that she is still 17. Her dream Test debut shows that she has got the required technique to succeed at the highest level. In the shorter formats, where there is scoreboard pressure, you need to be really quick with your thinking and that is where she needs to improve a bit. As she goes along playing for India, you will see her only getting better."