Chamari Athapaththu carries pressure of being a key player, inspiring to see how she handles it and performs: Shafali Verma

India’s top cricketers—Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Renuka Singh, Radha Yadav, and Jemimah Rodrigues—shared their insights on facing formidable opponents like Sri Lanka and Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup.

From discussing the impact of players like Chamari Athapaththu and Alyssa Healy to reflecting on the intense rivalry with Australia, the cricketers opened up about the challenges and excitement of competing at the highest level. India face Sri Lanka on the 9^th of October followed by Australia on the 13^th of October, with both games being crucial to India’s chances of making it to the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. 

Speaking exclusively to Star Sports, India cricketer Shafali Verma spoke on the impact Chamari Athapaththu has had on the Sri Lankan squad. She said “There was a time when Chamari was the one scoring most of the runs and taking wickets, but in the Asia Cup, her entire team performed well. They’ve improved a lot, which is why they won the cup. Chamari carries the pressure of being a key player, and it’s inspiring to see how she handles it and performs for her country.”

Smriti Mandhana spoke on the importance of the upcoming games in the Women’s T20 World Cup. She said “As a player, all games are important to us, when you come to the World Cup you have to give 100 percent in each game, Sri Lanka is a good team in our group. But With Australia, you know that you can’t make errors and minimize them, and you have to get the best game out on that particular day to get the better of them.  So, yeah there is excitement to do that on that day because they are a really good team so to come up against them and beat them.”

Renuka Singh spoke on the danger that Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu possesses as a batter. She said “Chamari Athapaththu is very interesting. She's the only one from Sri Lanka who takes the team to the other side. I try to get her out as soon as possible because if she is set, she can take over the match. So I have a plan on how to get her out.”