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Indian cricketer Shafali Verma. (FILE photo)
Shafali Verma, who returns to the Indian Women’s team squad for the series against England, said watching videos of former Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar’s batting helped her understand the advantages of playing every delivery on its merit.
“Earlier, I used to think of scoring a four or a six off every ball, but then I realised that it’s important to give respect to a good ball. I saw Sachin (Tendulkar) sir’s Test innings and got a lot of motivation from that,” said Shafali, speaking to BCCI.
“It reminded me of my childhood days when I used to not even miss a single game of his. I covered almost every match again. Watching that, I learned that the only way to build a good innings is by respecting the good deliveries,” she added.
Amid a poor run of form, Shafali was dropped from the Indian side. “Whenever you make a comeback, you encounter tough situations, but when you are back in the team environment, it is a very good feeling. I am very happy that I could make a comeback,” she reflected.
“Just 10 days before my selection (for the series against Australia), my dad suffered a heart attack. That was a very tough situation for me and after that, I did not get selected in the team. I did not know what was happening,” Shafali said. “After my dad recovered, he made me work a lot on my fitness before the domestic season. It was an up-down period for me, and I think it’s important to face such situations as only then you can become a strong person.”
Speaking about her fitness, Shafali would go on to say, “I worked on my fitness for 20-25 days. I picked up the bat after 20-25 days and I felt very good. That gave me a different kind of energy, a different feeling. Time teaches you a lot of things. I will do my best and leave the rest to destiny.”
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