There are uncanny similarities between Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh. Both are cherishing their father’s damaged cricket desires. He spent most of his childhood watching and listening to cricket tales from his father. In Rohtak, Sanjeev by no means pursued his dream on account of monetary constraints, whereas in Siliguri, Manabendra Ghosh by no means made it past the membership degree.
Interestingly, his cricketing journey began after watching the god of cricket Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. For Shafali, it began when she watched Sachin Tendulkar’s final Ranji Trophy match in Lahli. For Richa, it began after watching MS Dhoni’s World Cup-winning sixes from her hometown in Siliguri.
Her coronary heart was damaged nearly three years in the past within the Women’s T20 World Cup closing in entrance of a packed MCG. Just a few weeks again, the pair helped India elevate the inaugural U-19 Women’s World Cup.
India will start their World Cup marketing campaign in opposition to their arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday and within the absence of Smriti Mandhana, India will probably be counting on their explosive teenager to step as much as the senior degree.
Their power-hitting may be very pure, and it caught the eye of their respective coaches – Shib Shankar Paul and Ashwini Kumar.
“Richa can hit sixes at will. She can simply get up and hit it out of the park. His power may be very pure. Currently, he is without doubt one of the cleanest strikers on this Indian cricket workforce,” former Bengal and India A quick bowler Paul instructed The Indian Express.
She stated, “She likes Dhoni because of his ability to hit sixes.”
Shafali’s father feels that Bandar has gone behind with the Under-19 World Cup triumph and is now hopeful that his daughter will repeat the feat for the senior workforce.
“The heartbreak of 2020 hasn’t healed yet, but winning the U-19 title was a huge confidence booster for Shafali. He has got the taste of victory. For any athlete, nothing is more important than the habit of winning. It is a team game and I believe this Indian team can go all the way considering their talent and depth in the squad,” Sanjeev stated.
Kumar and Paul each have a priority about their wards’ eagerness to hit each ball for a boundary.
“With time she will realize that she cannot hit every ball for a four or a six. Putting the bowler under pressure is his game, he has terrorized the best bowlers in the world, but at the same time you can’t get off to a good start. She’s still 19 and that’s called the gush of youth, but it’s her game and it keeps me on edge. In recent times, he has worked on his strike rotation, which I must say is a pleasant development,” stated Kumar, former Haryana Ranji Trophy coach.
On the opposite hand, Paul, himself a bowler, feels in moments of disaster, Richa ought to play with calculated aggression. “Being brave is great but you have to win the battle. What’s the point if she gets 15 off 8 balls and ends up on the losing team. I want her to be calculative in her approach because that’s her role in the team. As a finisher. Whenever we train or talk, that’s what I keep telling him – to be patient and that it’s okay to play a few dot balls,” Paul stated.
Mandhana out, Harmanpreet match to play
Opener Smriti Mandhana was on Sunday dominated out of the workforce’s Women’s T20 World Cup opener in opposition to Pakistan as she continues to be recovering from a finger harm sustained throughout the warm-up match in opposition to Australia earlier this week.
“Smriti has suffered a finger harm and continues to be (in)restoration, so she is not going to play, almost definitely. It shouldn’t be a fracture and we’re hopeful that she will probably be out there from the second match onwards.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur has totally recovered from the shoulder harm she suffered throughout the tri-series.
“Harman is fit to play. He has batted in the nets for the last two days, he is fine.”
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
