Shafali comes in as injured Pratika's replacement

Explosive batter asked to join the WC squad after Rawal setback

- GOMESH S$ Navi Mumbai

IT is official. After being out of the ODI set-up for over 12 months, Shafali Verma may walk out to open the batting with Smriti Mandhana for India in the Women's World Cup semifinal against Australia at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. The 21-year-old explosive batter from Haryana was approved as the replacement for injured Pratika Rawal by the ICC Event Technical Committee on Monday.

The 21-year-old-captaining Haryana in the senior women's T20 knockouts in Surat - was supposed to play against Mumbai on Monday morning, but that match was called off due to rain. Later in the day, Shafali received the happy news that she has to travel to Mumbai and join the Indian team two days before the semifinal clash.

Understandably, her father, Sanjeev Verma, was delighted to hear about her selection for the World Cup. "Very happy that she has gotten into the World Cup. Thankful to god and the BCCI. God has listened to my prayers," a happy Sanjeev told this daily. After all, the last 12 months had not been easy for the Verma family. Shafali was a part of the team that faced an early exit in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. She played the home series against New Zealand in October before being dropped from the Indian team in both white-ball formats.