Shafali Verma is currently the youngest player in the Indian Women Cricket Team and got selected on the team when she was just 15 years old. This 17-year-old girl has broken various records at such a young age and, there's no going back for her. She is also known as the Female Sachin Tendulkar for her massive records at such a young age. Verma is also the youngest cricketer ever (male or female) to represent India in all three formats of cricket.
Shafali Verma – Statistics
- Full Name - Shafali Verma
- Date of Birth - 28 January 2004 (17 years)
- Place of Birth - Rohtak, Haryana, India
- Role - Batswoman
- Batting style - Right-handed
- Bowling style - Right-arm off-spin
- Test Match Debut - 16 June 2021
- No. of test matches played – 1
- Runs scored in Test - 159
- ODI debut - 27 June 2021
- No. of ODI matches played – 3
- Runs scored in WODI - 78
- T20I debut - 24 September 2019
- No. of T20I played – 25
- Runs scored in T20I - 665
Shafali Verma – Family and Personal Life
Shafali was born in a remote town, Rohtak in Haryana to Sanjeev Verma. She belongs to a middle-class family and, her father runs a jewelry shop. Her family is crazy about cricket and, they love playing cricket. Shafali's elder brother, Sahil, is also a cricketer and, he plays at several domestic level matches. Her father is the biggest supporter of her life and cricket choices. He taught her cricket and always stood by her side in all the difficult times.
Shafali Verma – Struggle & Training
Shafali had to struggle a lot before getting into the Women's Cricket Team. Her relatives and friends were not supportive of her game and considered it only for the boys. Shafali used to train in an academy full of boys and no girls. She also played hundreds of matches with the boy's team. Her peers and classmates also discouraged her as they thought sport is not fruitful enough.
Fun Fact: Shafali won several Man of the Match and Man of the Series awards and played as a boy. She had to cut her hair to make people believe that she is not a girl.
Shafali Verma – Cricket Career
- Early Career - Shafali played for the various district, state, and national level matches before debuting International Cricket. She was one of the most phenomenal batswomen on the team and, this is why she constantly got promoted to the senior's cricket team.
- International Cricket - Verma made her International debut from a T20I match on 24 September 2019 against South Africa. She made her debut at the age of 15, becoming the youngest player to play for her country in a T20I match. She scored a half-century in her first match and scored a total of 158 runs in a five-match series. She got also named as the player of the series. In May 2021, Verma got selected to play a Test and an ODI series against an English team. Verma scored 96 runs in her debut Test match and got named player of the series for scoring 159 runs in two innings.
- T20I World Cup - Shafali got named in the Women's T20I World Cup squad in 2020 in Australia. She was the youngest player ever to play a World Cup match. Verma also got a central contract from BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). She got ranked number one batswoman (in Women's T20I cricket, ahead of ICC Women T20 World Cup. She was the third-highest run-scorer with a strike rate of 161 in the tournament. She also became the youngest player ever to win a player of the match award in a T20 World Cup tournament.
Shafali Verma - Awards and Achievements
Shafali has been the recipient of various women of the match and women of the series awards at a young age. Some of the awards won by her are as follows:
- Polly Umrigar Trophy by BCCI - Outstanding International Debut Award (Women's Cricketer)
Shafali Verma - Unknown Facts
- She started playing cricket when she was just eight years old.
- She once wore her brother's jersey and played a match for U-12 School National Championship in Panipat.
- Sachin Tendulakr is her idol.
- She got trained by her father for three years as there was no dedicated academy for girls.
Shafali Verma – Records
- Verma is the youngest cricketer ever to represent in the Cricket World Cup.
- She scored third-most runs in her debut match.
- She is the eighth player to score more than 90 runs in her debut match
- She is the youngest cricketer ever to represent India in all three formats.
- She broke 30 years old record of Sachin Tendulkar
- Verma scored 73 runs in her debut T20I match, which is a record.
- She registered her highest partnership with Smriti Mandhana in a T20I match against West Indies.
Shafali Verma – Fans and Following
Verma is pretty active on various social media accounts. She constantly posts about her cricket practices, training sessions, matches, personal life, etc.
She has more than 200 thousand followers on Instagram and about 60 thousand followers on Twitter.
Shafali Verma – Brand Endorsements
Shafali is a well-known personality all over the world. Many brands want to collaborate with her due to her popularity. Some of the brands endorsed by her are as follows:
- Pepsi
- Nike
Shafali Verma - The Young Goddess of Cricket
Shafali Verma is the rising star of India. This teenage girl has achieved a lot of success at a young age. She fulfilled her as well as her parent's dream by becoming an International level cricketer. People like Shafali Verma are an Inspiration for all those people who want to become successful in life. Verma is undoubtedly the goddess of the cricket fraternity.
