Shafali Verma (born 28 January 2004) is an Indian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who plays for the

India women's national cricket team The India women's national cricket team, also known as Team India or Women in Blue, represents India in women's international cricket. It is governed by Board of Control for Cricket in India India made its Test debut in 1976, against the We ...

. In 2019, at the age of 15, she became the youngest cricketer to play in a

Women's Twenty20 International Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 International is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The first Twent ...

match for India. In June 2021, she became the youngest player, male or female, to represent India in all three formats of international cricket. On 8 October 2022 she became the youngest cricketer to complete 1000 runs in T20 Internationals. Under her captaincy, India won the

2023 ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup The 2023 ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup was the first edition of the ICC Women's Under-19 Cricket World Cup, hosted by South Africa in 2023. The tournament was moved from its original slot at the end of 2021 to January 2023 because of the COV ...

Early life

During her childhood, Verma initially played cricket disguised as a boy due to a lack of girls' cricket academies in Rohtak.

Career

Before international cricket, she played for Velocity in the Women's T20 Challenge in which she scored 34 runs in 31 balls. In September 2019, she was named in India's

(WT20I) squad for their series against South Africa. She made her WT20I debut for India at the age of fifteen, against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, on 24 September 2019. She was the youngest player to play for India in a T20I match, and in November 2019 against the West Indies, became the youngest half-centurion for India in international cricket. Against the West Indies, she scored 158 runs in five matches, and was named the player of the series. In January 2020, she was named in India's squad for the

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day. Hosts ...

in Australia, and was awarded with a central contract by the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

(BCCI). Ahead of the

, she was ranked as the number one batter in women's T20I cricket. In May 2021, she was named in India's

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

and

Women's One Day International Women's One Day International (WODI) is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was ...

(WODI) squads for their series against the England women's cricket team. Verma made her Test debut on 16 June 2021, for India against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, scoring 96 runs in her first Test innings. The Test match was drawn, and Verma was named the player of the match after scoring 159 runs in her two innings. Verma made her WODI debut for India, against England, on 27 June 2021. She was signed by Birmingham Phoenix for the first season of The Hundred. She played for

Sydney Sixers The Sydney Sixers are an Australian professional franchise men's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL). Along with the Sydney Thunder, the Sixers are the successors of the New ...

in the 2021 WBBL, where she scored her maiden fifty against

Hobart Hurricanes The Hobart Hurricanes are an Australian professional men's T20 franchise cricket team based in Tasmania, Australia. They compete in Australia's domestic T20 cricket competition known as the Big Bash League, which is a league where many in ...

. In January 2022, she was named in India's team for the

2022 Women's Cricket World Cup The 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was the twelfth edition of the Women's Cricket World Cup, which was held in New Zealand in March and April 2022. It was originally scheduled for 6 February to 7 March 2021 but was postponed by one year due ...

in New Zealand. In July 2022, she was named in India's team for the cricket tournament at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England. India opener Shafali Verma was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 2 crore at the Women's Premier League Auction in Mumbai on Monday. In her first match against

Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor ...

Challengers Bangalore,she scored her maiden fifty. She came to bat as an opener and scored 84 runs in just 45 balls.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Verma, Shafali 2004 births Living people Indian women cricketers India women Test cricketers India women One Day International cricketers India women Twenty20 International cricketers People from Rohtak Cricketers from Haryana Haryana women cricketers IPL Velocity cricketers Delhi Capitals (WPL) cricketers Birmingham Phoenix cricketers Sydney Sixers (WBBL) cricketers Cricketers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in cricket Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Asian Games medalists in cricket Cricketers at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games