Delhi: Indian women’s cricket team’s star batsman Shefali Verma suffered a major setback in November last year, when she was dropped from the team for the Australia tour. There was a lack of consistency in Shefali’s international performance. Not a single half-century came in his last 10 innings. His highest score was 43 runs, which he made against Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup.
Pratika Rawal, who entered the team as an opener in place of Shefali, performed brilliantly by scoring one century and three half-centuries in six matches.
‘Father suffered a heart attack’
Shefali recently revealed in an interview that being out of the team was not the only shock for her. In an interview given to Indian Express, he told that his father Sanjeev Verma had suffered a heart attack two days before the announcement of the team. He said, “It was not easy to recover from this. I did not tell my father until his health improved. He was in the hospital. I told them after a week.”
When the father heard about her exit from the team, he helped his daughter focus back on the game, even though he himself was undergoing treatment.
The star batsman said, “Papa knows everything. Sometimes we forget our own strengths, but parents do not forget them, they reminded me of the workouts and drills of my childhood. “These are my strengths, and sometimes you have to work on them again so you can believe in your abilities.”
Shefali’s return to form
In the two domestic tournaments played after being out of the team, Shefali scored 527 and 414 runs in 12 matches. This included three centuries and five half-centuries. The most important thing is that Shefali focused on improving her fitness and sports.
He said, “It is always important to work on those aspects which are not my strengths. Like rotating the strike, taking singles and building your innings in a better way. Everyone knows my strengths, but I have to be mentally smarter so that I can plan my innings better.”
