‘I hid the news from my father’ - Shafali Verma on being dropped from team India

Star India women’s cricketer Shafali Verma was visibly emotional as she shared her thoughts about the time when she was dropped from the Indian team for the tour of Australia in November. It is worth noting that ahead of the series against Australia, the times had been hard enough for Shafali as her father had suffered a heart attack just two days ago. 

She recently came forward and admitted how hard that time was for her, and how she had hidden the news of being dropped from her father to protect his health. 

“It’s not easy to get over it. I didn’t want to reveal it because my father had a heart attack about two days before I got dropped from the team. I hid the news from him till he got better. He was in the hospital. I told him a week later,” Shafali Verma told the Indian Express. 

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It is worth noting that when the news was broken to Shafali’s father, he did not give himself enough time to rest, but started taking Shafali for practice. Her father was her first coach, helping her relive her childhood and find her footing again, Sanjeev Verma got right back at work. 

“Father knows everything, sometimes as kids even we forget our strengths but they don’t forget. He reminded me of the workouts and drills from my childhood and helped me to do the same. When I started, we had these knocking drills – where I play on-drive, straight drive and that’s what I worked on. These are my strengths and sometimes you need to work on them to remember how good you are at them,” Shafali said.

Furthermore, it seemed like Shafali Verma had been reaping the rewards of her training. Shafali has amassed 527 and 414 runs in 12 matches, scoring three centuries and five fifties in the two domestic tournaments she has played since being dropped.