New Delhi: Shafali Verma’s comeback couldn’t have been scripted better.
A match-winning knock, a game-changing spell, and a Player-of-the-Final award in the Women’s Cricket World Cup finals, which India won for the very first time. And, she wasn’t even supposed to play.
Verma wasn’t part of the 15-member squad, and her omission wasn’t controversial either. She had not been at the top of her form in recent ODIs.
Then, Pratika Rawal injured herself in the match against Bangladesh, and a slot opened up. The women’s selection committee named Shafali Verma as Rawal’s replacement—a call they’re likely congratulating themselves for now.
Though Verma couldn’t perform well in the semi-final, she was India’s highest scorer in the final match, belting out 87 runs. The batter who scored the most after her was Deepti Sharma, who made a crucial 58 runs.
Speaking to ThePrint, Anaya Bangar, cricketer and TV personality, said, “She has bounced back and how. I am so happy for her. God has a plan for everything. Shefali’s story is a lesson for every cricketer out there.”
“Rough patches are very much part of our game, but they make you learn more than the victories ever will. She took her omission from the team…to sit down and reflect on her performance. And when she got an opportunity, she made sure her name was etched in the pages of history,” Bangar said.
But what astounded fans and experts alike was Shafali Verma’s success with the ball. She picked up the wickets of South African batters Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp in successive overs. Those wickets were key to halting South Africa’s momentum, turning the game in India’s favour.
In total, Verma bowled seven overs and gave away 36 runs.
“Her bowling was honestly a bonus; no one expected that performance. And, even with the bat, she wasn’t manufacturing strokes; she played in a very controlled manner,” cricket expert R. Kaushik, who compared Verma to the likes of Virender Sehwag, told ThePrint.
According to him, when the team has a strong middle order, like India’s women’s cricket team has now, there is always a place for a talent, like Verma.
“Just like Sehwag, who was a stroke hitter, had a place in the team because India had a strong middle order of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and V.V.S. Laxman…similarly, it’s the responsibility of the team managers to handle a talent, like her, well,” he said.
Verma’s batting style is famous in the folklore of women’s cricketing history. So, while Verma played the role of the aggressive batter alongside Smriti Mandhana, who was anchoring the innings calmly to give India a solid start, it was not surprising.
The most unexpected scene of the night, however, came when the skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, handed over the ball to Verma. Interestingly, Verma has bowled only six times in her 31-match ODI career.
In the 21st over of South Africa’s chase, Laura Wolvaardt was looking unstoppable, and Sune Luus was finding momentum, when Kaur threw the ball to Verma. India’s spinners, despite multiple attempts, hadn’t been able to shake the partnership.
When Kaur trusted Shafali Verma with the ball, and that too in the World Cup final, the faces of spectators and commentators openly showed their surprise.
It was only later that they would learn that Kaur’s gamble wasn’t just an instinct. Actually, it was a part of a plan, as Kaur later revealed in the post-match press conference.
Shafali Verma has been a regular with the bowl in domestic cricket. She has eight wickets in seven games in the 2024-25 Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy, and eight in the recent six-match domestic T-20 Trophy.
And in both tournaments, she also finished as the top run-getter.
“When Shafali joined the team, we were missing the overs from Pratika. So, when Shafali came in, we saw she was bowling a lot of overs in domestic cricket…So, sir (Amol Muzumdar) and I spoke to her, and she said, ‘Sir, I’m ready for ten overs’. That shows how confident she was to bowl,” Kaur said.
Some believe it was written in the stars. Others call her ‘Destiny’s Child’. But the truth is, she scripted her story after being written off, with nothing but grit and resilience.
“This knock, this bowling, and this comeback will be remembered for generations to come,” Anaya Bangar said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Jemimah Rodrigues shows real strength lies in vulnerability. It’s a powerful reminder