WPL 2025: Delhi Capitals' Shafali Verma aims for strong comeback
What's the story
Delhi Capitals' star opener, Shafali Verma, is all set for a powerful comeback in the upcoming Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025. Meanwhile, the team is currently hosting its pre-season camp in Pune, honing their skills for the upcoming season. Verma spoke about her optimism regarding the team's preparations and how WPL has shaped her career. While talking to Sports 18 after an initial training session, she stated "The preparations are going in full swing. The atmosphere here is really good."
Career impact
Verma highlights WPL's impact on her career
Verma has been an integral part of the Delhi Capitals, with back-to-back finals appearances in the first two seasons. Meanwhile, she credits WPL for giving players enough game time and opportunities to interact with international cricketers. "The players get to play a good number of matches in WPL," she said, adding that it offers "very good opportunities to make small tweaks here and there in your game."
International exposure
Verma's learnings from international players in WPL
Verma stressed on the unique learning experience of playing with foreign players in WPL. She especially admires their ability to remain calm on and off the field. "The experience of playing with foreign players is a different learning for all of us," she said, adding that this was one of her major takeaways from mingling with overseas players during the tournament.
Comeback resolve
Verma's determination to bounce back after ODI squad drop
Verma had a tough time in November last year when she was dropped from the ODI squad. She further added, "To be honest, the past few months have been tough for me. My father suffered a heart attack, and just a couple of days later, I was dropped from the ODI squad." "The only thing in my control is my preparation," she said, adding that "if I train well and score runs, I know I can come back stronger."
Stats
A look at the opener's T20I and WPL stats
Verma is one of the five Indian players to have crossed the 2,000 T20I runs mark, having amassed 2,045 runs. According to ESPNcricinfo, she also boasts an average of 25.56, alongside an impressive strike rate of 129.10 across 85 T20Is. She also owns 10 fifties with a career-high score of 81. Meanwhile, in the WPL, she has amassed 561 runs across 18 matches, (AVG: 35.06, SR: 168.46). The opener also owns five fifties and a highest score of 84.