Raipur, October 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Newly appointed India T20I vice-captain Shafali Verma has described her leadership role as a major responsibility, saying the team is preparing to play fearless yet smart cricket ahead of the inaugural six-team T20 Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in Mumbai and Vadodara in February 2027.
India, now set to be led by Smriti Mandhana, will begin its preparations for the tournament with a T20I series against Zimbabwe, starting at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Friday.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Thursday, Shafali said her experience of captaining India at the Under-19 level would help her contribute to the leadership group. She stressed that vice-captaincy involved supporting the captain and ensuring that every player remained comfortable and mentally prepared.
“Vice-captaincy is not just a title. It’s a big responsibility,” Shafali said. She added that she was focused on supporting the captain and helping teammates maintain a positive frame of mind.
Shafali also credited former captain Harmanpreet Kaur for her contribution to the growth of women’s cricket in India. She said the team had held several meetings to establish its approach for the coming months, with an emphasis on playing attacking cricket while making smart decisions.
“We have to play a fearless brand of cricket in T20, with smartness as well,” she said, adding that the team was working to improve with every series as it looked ahead to the Champions Trophy.
The opener’s recent resurgence has been marked by scores of 64, 68, 40 not out, 100 not out and 48. She attributed her improved form to the work she put in during 2025 after being left out of the ODI side.
Shafali returned to the ODI World Cup squad after Pratika Rawal’s injury, having continued to play state-level T20 cricket for Haryana. She went on to deliver a Player of the Match performance in the final against South Africa in Navi Mumbai.
“When Pratika got injured, I got a direct call to be back in the team. Luckily, at that time I was playing state T20 games from Haryana,” she said. “I worked a lot on myself in 2025, and I think that hard work gave me lots of help right now.”
The 22-year-old said her time away from the team had prompted her to assess her game and identify areas for improvement, particularly consistency, fitness and mental strength.
She explained that she had worked on her physical conditioning and mental approach, and was now focused on maintaining consistency and continuing to learn from every experience.
Shafali also spoke about her growing contribution with the ball, saying off-spin bowling was not new to her because she had been bowling for Haryana since 2021. She said she had mentally prepared herself for the possibility of bowling for India and was pleased to see that preparation paying off.
With opponents increasingly planning specifically for her, Shafali said she used net sessions to practise different match situations and improve her response to a range of deliveries. Her preparation includes working against short balls, playing spinners off the back foot and practising pull shots.
She said simulating challenging situations during practice had helped her feel better prepared for matches, adding that she intended to continue working hard across all aspects of her game.
Addressing the absence of injured batter Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali said India had managed its middle-order responsibilities well during the Asia Cup and Asian Games. She praised the contributions of Richa Ghosh and Harmanpreet and expressed hope that young batter Niki Prasad would also perform well in the middle order.
Shafali said the team would continue giving players opportunities while working to address mistakes made in previous matches.
India’s series against Zimbabwe will provide the team with an opportunity to build momentum and refine its approach as it prepares for the 2027 T20 Champions Trophy.
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