The women of India have announced their squad to the ODI World Cup in 2025 on Tuesday at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. Harmanpreet Kaur is to remain captain, and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana announced the final team along with the selection panel. The surprise to most fans has been the omission of opening batter Shafali Verma.
Selection Insights from Chief Selector Neetu David
“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,” said Neetu David, highlighting the rationale behind Shafali’s exclusion.
David stressed that the choice of the squad was based on consistency and long term approach. “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.”
Shafali Verma’s Recent Form and Statistics
The young Haryana batter came into the limelight when she led India to the Under-19 Women World Cup trophy. But she has had a mixed play since she re-joined the senior team in the series of England. She scored 3, 47, 31 and 75, then 3, 3 and 41 against Australia A.
Shafali has scored 644 runs in 29 ODIs that she has played with an average of 23 and a strike rate of 83.2. The selectors felt that she required more regular exposure before she can be able to play on the World Cup stage despite her talent.
Emerging Contenders Take the Spotlight
Interestingly Shafali did not find place even as a reserve. She was selected over Pratika Rawal, who has 703 runs in 14 ODIs at an average of 54 including a century. Rawal was in good form and consistent in the recent times, and this made her be the best choice of the opening slot.
India also recalled the fit-again pacer Renuka Singh Thakur and this gave India more bowling options. With the world cup beginning on September 30, India will take on the Sri Lanka Women in the opening game and this will be the start of a tough campaign.
Looking Ahead to the Women’s World Cup 2025
Indian women side will rely on its veteran base of players, such as Harmanpreet and Smriti, and combine it with youngsters in form. The progress that Shafali has made at the Indian A matches should be able to help her face international tournaments in the future. The fans will be attentively following whether the prodigy comes back with a vengeance.
