The Hundred: Shafali Verma Becomes Fifth Indian Player to Get NOC To Play In The Tournament
The world best T20 batswoman, Shafali Verma will feature in the competition for Birmingham Phoenix and will be the fifth Indian to feature in the competition
Indian women cricket team’s young sensation Shafali Verma is all set to feature in the inaugural edition of The Hundred. With this, she become the fifth Indian player after Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma to received No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the BCCI to participate in the tournament.
Shafali Verma, who is currently the No. 1 in the ICC Women’s T20I batting rankings, has signed up for the Birmingham Phoenix, a team led by Sophie Devine. The Haryana born player has achieved many feats in the T20I format ever since she made her debut in 2019. So far, in 22 T20Is, she has scored 617 runs at an average of 29.38 and a strike rate of 148.31.
Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments confirmed that Shafali is the fifth Indian player who has been handed a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“It is a delightful news not just for Shafali but for Indian women’s cricket that there will be five Indian players in the inaugural edition of The Hundred. She will re-unite with her Sydney Sixers coach Ben Sawyer and the experience should help her grow further in what has already been a very positive road forward for the youngster,” the source said.
Spending Time With The Haryana Men’s Team Was Beneficial: Shafali Verma
Shafali Verma revealed the reason behind her success at such a young age, being that she spent with the Haryana men’s team ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. She thanked the association for letting her train with the team and revealed that facing bowlers, who clocked close to 140 kph mark, helped her decide whether to play off the front foot or go back in the T20 series against South Africa.
“The reason behind the fast foot movement is the time I spent with Haryana men’s team ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. I cannot thank the Haryana Cricket Association enough for allowing me to train with the team.
What it did was that it helped my decision-making power at the crease as I was facing fast bowlers who were touching close to 140 kph mark. So, I had that extra second to decide if I wanted to go back or play off the front foot when I played the T20 series,” Verma said as quoted by ANI.
“We had some top-quality bowlers in Mohit Sharma, Ashish Hooda, Ajeet Chahal, Sanjay Pahal, and Aman Kumar among others.”
Apart from playing whirlwind knocks in the T20I series, Shafali also looked to have improved her fitness. She once again thanked the HCA for helping the players.
“Yes, I did work on my fitness during the time away from the game due to lockdown. Here too, cannot thank the HCA enough. Every player was catered to individually. Our needs were looked into and even for things like dumbbells, HCA ensured every player had the equipment to train. At the top level, you need to be fit to perform,” she had said.
