'I'm hoping to carry on this consistency and do well for the team' - Shafali Verma on changes made in her batting over time

India Women have always been considered as a side to be a dominant entity in women's cricket. However, they have not had anything to show when it comes to silverware, be it in the 50-over competitions or the 20-over events, despite appearing in the final and semi-final stages on quite a few instances.

The only women's side to have laid their hands on an ICC trophy has been the U-19 group, skippered by a fresh-faced Shafali Verma in the 2023 edition of the tournament, which was in fact the very first season. Verma shed light on the feeling of lifting the trophy as well as highlighted the objective of the team going into the tournament.    

"Of course, it was a massive thing for women's cricket in India that we won an ICC trophy. It was the biggest moment of my life and I will take confidence from that so that we can lift the T20 World Cup this year as well. Our main focus right now is that we win the [World Cup] trophy. Individual goals and records are a part of the game. But there's no better feeling than your team winning, and those nights, I get good sleep,” stated Verma, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The opening batter also spoke on how she has changed her style of approaching her innings when in the middle, as compared to when she had started out.

"At the start of my career, I just used to go out and hit, but now, I've made some changes mentally. Now I have the game to block a couple of deliveries as well, I can play along the ground too. You become more consistent once you make mental changes in your game. I'm hoping to carry on this consistency and do well for the team," mentioned Verma.

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I'm just 20 and aim to get better from the learnings of the last three-four years: Verma

A forward-thinking Verma also candidly spoke on the way her first two editions of the Women's T20 World Cup did not go as per expectations but made her learn the hard way how vital it was to stay unwavering in terms of run-scoring.  

"The T20 World Cup in 2020 was my first World Cup and that time, I used to go after every ball. Early in your career, such thing may work, but after a point, the opposition starts doing video analysis and they can work out your game when it comes to your strengths and weaknesses. I didn't do that well in the 2023 T20 World Cup either but I learnt a lot from that tournament. Now, people have started to say my consistency has improved and in the last three-four years, I've learnt how important being consistent is. I'm just 20 and aim to get better from the learnings of the last three-four years," added Verma.

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Verma's last two editions saw her scoring 102 (2023) and 163 (2020) in five innings each, respectively. For the Indian side to go all the way, one of the many aspects that would have to go right would be for Verma to click at the top of the order.