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Smriti Mandhana opened up about where Shafali Verma stands after the explosive opener was not included in the Ireland ODI series.
Shafali Verma has not been a part of the India Women’s squad since the Australia series. (Image: X)
India’s stand-in skipper, Smriti Mandhana clarified regarding the national women’s team once again ignoring Shafali Verma for the upcoming white-ball series on home soil. The skipper clarified that the explosive opening batter is in the scheme of things.
Mandhana once again takes the skipper’s role for the women’s team, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Renuka Singh Thakur rested for the three-match ODI series against Ireland. Verma, who has built a reputation for her explosive brand of batting, has been dropped from the squad since the away ODI series against Australia in December.
“Harman is rested and that was very clear. Shefali in the last two or three one-day series, has not been part of the squad. Pratika (Rawal) in the last series has done really well in her absence, but definitely, Shefali scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket, so she’s definitely in the scheme of things,” Mandhana said on the eve of the series opener.
However, the skipper remains focused on making the most of the resources she has presently and wants to maintain a positive mindset.
“As a team, we do not have to think what is not there because we want to go out there and have the positive mindset that we have a really balanced squad. The girls who have come in as well are really, really good,” he commented.
“We will not think about what is not there,” she added.
Despite a crushing defeat to Australia, the side bounced back in the recent games against the West Indies and the skipper hopes to carry the confidence forward when they take on Ireland as well.
“We had a good series against West Indies. 2-1 in the T20I series, 3-0 in the one-day series. Definitely, the last series gave us a lot of confidence and different batters at different times got runs, and especially against the West Indies our bowling attack was at point,” she shared.
With senior stars like Harmanpreet and Renuka absent, Mandhana hopes that whoever comes in as their replacement, can make the most out of these opportunities and put in a solid performance to make their case for selection in the future as well.
“Renuka and Harman both have been really important members and they have played their part amazingly well. But of course, because they are rested, it’s an opportunity for two of the other young girls,” she commented.
“Whoever will get the opportunity, I am sure they will try and grab it with both their hands,” the skipper added.
(with PTI Inputs)
