With Eye On Big Prize, India Drop Shafali Verma For Home Women's World Cup

Indian women's team unveiled its 2025 ODI World Cup squad on Tuesday during a press conference at BCCI's headquarters in Mumbai. While Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the side, opening batter Shafali Verma was snubbed for the tournament, starting September 30 in India. The squad was revealed by chairperson of the selection committee, Neetu David, captain Harmanpreet and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana. Meanwhile, fit-again pacer Renuka Singh Thakur was recalled to the side.

"She is playing for India A in Australia. She is a part of the system. We are keeping an eye out for her. The more she plays, the more experience she will gain for the future," Chief selector David said.

"Our team did well in England. We have been working on this squad for a long time now. I think the team we have picked is the best, so we don't want to play around with the team ahead of the World Cup. We just want Shafali to keep playing and gain some experience."

The 21-year-old won the Under 19 women's World Cup for India but she will miss out on a unique opportunity. 

Since her return to the team during the series against England, Shafali has made 3, 47, 31 and 75, before returning with scores of 3, 3 and 41 vs Australia A.

In 29 ODIs, Shafali has scored 644 runs at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 83.2.

The Haryana girl was not considered as a reserve either. Pratika Rawal, who has scored 703 runs in 14 ODIs at a sparkling average of 54 and a ton, was picked ahead of Shafali 

India begins its World Cup campaign vs Sri Lanka Women on 30th September.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Women Harmanpreet Kaur Smriti Mandhana Shafali Verma Cricket