“I want to be known by my own name and not as someone’s clone”-Shafali Verma

Power hitting, excellent hand-eye coordination and fearless batting are the trademark traits of Shafali Verma- the 17 year old women cricketer from Haryana.Although Shafali has just started her career, she has already proved that she is here to rule the cricketing world with her brilliant batting.

She had landed in the UK with hopes and big dreams as a T20 cricketer, and two months in, Verma established her reputation as a batter and one of the most clean hitters of the ball in the inaugural edition of The Hundred tournament.

Her batting style, as described earlier, is a lot similar to the Indian great Virender Sehwag, which has earned her comparisons with the all time great opener. However, Shafali expressed her disapproval with the comparsion, saying she wants to carve her own path, a path unique to her and her name.While speaking to Times of India, Shafali said, “I want to be known as just Shafali Verma. I want to be known for my own style. It’s not that I don’t watch and observe other players’ games. I want to learn from them but I don’t want to copy them. As I said, I want to be known by my own name and not as someone’s clone. But there is no denying the fact that when I am compared to Sehwag, it gives me tremendous confidence.”

Shafali produced excellent performances in her debut test itself, though she did fall short of a well deserved century by mere 4 runs. Her batting in the second innings too was phenomenal, where she scored 63 runs and helped India to save the test. One couldn’t have expected a better transition of her batting into the T20Is, where she scored remarkable 171 runs from eight games for the Birmingham Phoenix.

Back from the UK, Shafali will straight head to the camp with no extra rest where the Indian cricketers are preparing for their upcoming tour of the mighty Australians.

With the challenging conditions of Australia, Verma will be looking to target the best bowlers of Australia like Megan Schutt and Ellyse Perry, a method taught to her by her own father since her childhood days of club cricket.

“My father always told me that If I wanted to make my name, I have to play and do well against the best. That is what I always keep in mind, be it a club game or the World Cup or Tests,” said Shafali.

All eyes will be set on Shafali in the upcoming Australia tour since she has been in red hot form since a long time and her flamboyant batting style has been liked by all the cricket fans.How well do you think Shafali will perform in this upcoming series? Will she be able to dominate as did in the UK? Let us know in the comment section below.