India is seeking to a brand new era of gifted younger cricketers led by teenage batter Shafali Verma to propel them to a primary Women’s T20 World Cup title this month.
Long-serving skipper Mithali Raj and record-breaking quick bowler Jhulan Goswami, trailblazers for ladies’s cricket in India, each retired final 12 months.
New captain Harmanpreet Kaur stated each gamers are nonetheless readily available to offer recommendation, however it’s time to look ahead.
“Whenever we need they are always available to us, that’s what you expect from senior players,” the 33-year-old advised a latest press convention.
“Nobody can fill their places, but the young girls who are getting the chances are doing well.”
One of the gamers who has grabbed her likelihood is Verma, an attacking opening batter who led India to victory within the inaugural U-19 T20 World Cup in South Africa final month.
The 19-year-old might be again on acquainted floor for the T20 World Cup, which is once more in South Africa.
It begins on February 10 and India is chasing a breakthrough first title, having been runner-up behind host Australia within the final version, in 2020.
India’s first match is towards archrival Pakistan on February 12 in Cape Town.
Verma made her worldwide debut on the age of simply 15 and was within the staff that reached the T20 World Cup last in 2020.
She additionally performed within the one-day World Cup and was a member of the Indian aspect which took silver ultimately 12 months’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The teenager appears to be like as much as big-hitting England batsman Liam Livingstone for inspiration and considers Indian nice Sachin Tendulkar a task mannequin.
After captaining India to victory within the U19 World Cup, Verma stated, “This is just the beginning.”
“When I entered the Under-19s, I only focused on winning the Under-19 Cup and we have won that today,” ESPNCricinfo quoted her as saying.
“I will look to take this winning confidence with me and win the senior World Cup.”
Besides Verma, the India staff additionally contains Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh.
The ladies’s recreation is making inroads within the cricket-mad nation, with the inaugural Women’s Premier League set for March, forward of the lads’s IPL.
Last month, India’s cricket board auctioned off 5 ladies’s IPL groups for $572.5 million.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com