Smriti Mandhana Praises Shafali Verma Ahead of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
Dubai [UAE], October 2: As the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 approaches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indian opener Smriti Mandhana has praised her teammate Shafali Verma. Mandhana shared her experience of opening the innings with Shafali for the national team.
Shafali Verma has played 81 T20Is since her debut in 2019, scoring 1,948 runs with an average of 25.63 and a strike rate of over 130, including 10 half-centuries. Her highest score is 81.
“It’s a lot of fun opening with Shafali. The conversations between us are pretty funny. I hope the mic never catches them because they can be really random! We’ve been opening together for the last 2-3 years and know each other’s game really well. Many times, we don’t even need to talk; we can just communicate with gestures. There’s a great bond between us, and if we get going in the powerplay, it’s always good for the team,” Mandhana said at the Star Sports Press Room.
Last month, the Indian women’s team arrived in the UAE for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which starts on October 3. In the previous edition in 2022, India reached the semi-finals but lost to Australia.
India’s recent performance has been mixed. They lost T20I series against Australia and England earlier this year but won two consecutive series against Bangladesh. In July, their series against South Africa ended in a draw. In the Asia Cup 2024, India lost the final to Sri Lanka.
India will start their T20 World Cup campaign against New Zealand on October 4 at Dubai International Stadium. In the last T20 World Cup, Australia won their sixth title by defeating South Africa in the final, while India lost to Australia in the semi-finals.
India Women’s T20 World Cup Squad
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Harmanpreet Kaur (C) | Captain |
| Smriti Mandhana (VC) | Vice-Captain |
| Shafali Verma | Player |
| Deepti Sharma | Player |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | Player |
| Richa Ghosh (WK) | Wicketkeeper |
| Yastika Bhatia (WK) | Wicketkeeper |
| Pooja Vastrakar | Player |
| Arundhati Reddy | Player |
| Renuka Singh | Player |
| Dayalan Hemalatha | Player |
| Asha Sobhana | Player |
| Radha Yadav | Player |
| Shreyanka Patil | Player |
| Sajana Sajeevan | Player |
Travelling Reserves
- Uma Chetry (WK)
- Tanuja Kanwer
- Saima Thakor
Non-Travelling Reserves
- Raghvi Bist
- Priya Mishra
Doubts Revealed
Smriti Mandhana -: Smriti Mandhana is a famous Indian cricketer who plays for the Indian women’s cricket team. She is known for her excellent batting skills.
Shafali Verma -: Shafali Verma is a young and talented Indian cricketer. She is known for her aggressive batting style and has played many matches for India.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup -: The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is a big cricket tournament where teams from different countries compete. T20 means each team plays 20 overs.
UAE -: UAE stands for the United Arab Emirates, a country in the Middle East. It is known for its modern cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
T20Is -: T20Is stands for Twenty20 Internationals, a type of cricket match where each team plays 20 overs. It is a shorter and faster version of the game.
Harmanpreet Kaur -: Harmanpreet Kaur is the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team. She is a very skilled player and leads the team in matches.
Vice-captain -: The vice-captain is the second leader of the team. If the captain is not available, the vice-captain takes over the captain’s duties.
Semi-finals -: The semi-finals are the matches played before the final match in a tournament. The winners of the semi-finals go on to play in the final.