"Shafali Verma is definitely in scheme of things"

Known for her penchant to go after the bowlers from the get-go, Shafali was dropped from the squad for the ODI series against Australia in December

- Agencies

RAJKOT: Dropped following poor returns last year, big-hitting opener Shafali Verma "definitely" remains in the scheme of things, Indian women's team captain Smriti Mandhana said on Thursday.

Mandhana is leading the Indian team in the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur, who has been rested for the three-match ODI series against Ireland, along with pacer Renuka Thakur.

Known for her penchant to go after the bowlers from the get-go, Shafali was dropped from the squad for the ODI series against Australia in December.

"Harman is rested and that was very clear. Shefali in the last two or three one-day series, she's not been part of the squad. Pratika (Rawal) in the last series has done really well in her absence, but definitely Shefali scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket, so she's definitely in the scheme of things," Mandhana said on the eve of the series opener.