India women’s cricket vice-captain Shafali Verma said the team is focused on playing fearless but smart cricket as it begins preparations for the Champions Trophy. India will face Zimbabwe in a bilateral series starting with three T20Is in Raipur. Smriti Mandhana has been appointed captain across all formats now.
Shafali Verma
India women's cricket vice-captain Shafali Verma said the team is focused on playing fearless but smart cricket as it begins its preparations for the Women's Champions Trophy at home early next year. India will face Zimbabwe for the first time in a bilateral series, starting with three T20Is in Raipur before the teams move to Vadodara for three ODIs. The series is part of India's preparations for the ICC event in February. “We have spoken about it, that in this series we have to play a fearless brand of cricket with smartness till the Champions Trophy. We have done lots of meetings so everyone knows what to do. We are just trying to keep growing series by series,” Shafali told reporters on the eve of the opening match. India have also seen a change in leadership after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down. Smriti Mandhana has been appointed captain across formats, with Shafali named her deputy in T20Is and Deepti Sharma taking up the vice-captaincy in ODIs. Shafali credited Harmanpreet for her contribution to the growth of women's cricket in India. “Harman provided a lot of growth to women’s cricket and the way it has shaped, it is all because of her,” Shafali said about the former skipper. Shafali was out of the national team for a period last year before being recalled during the ODI World Cup as a replacement. She said the time away helped her identify areas that needed improvement, including consistency, fitness and mental strength.
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“I analysed myself when I was out of the team. I needed to work on consistency, fitness, and mental growth. I worked hard on these things and now everything is coming together,” Shafali said. “In 2025, I worked on every skill, from playing short balls, back-foot punches against spinners and the pull shots as well. I can see a good reflection of it now." “I have been bowling for Haryana since 2021 so it is not new to me. I used to think that if I have to bowl for India one day, how should I prepare myself for it, and mentally I have been ahead only,” she added.