Tough times, stronger comeback: Shafali's resolve

'Personally, I have learnt how to build my innings while being a part of WPL'

Delhi Capitals opener Shafali Verma on Friday credited the Women's Premier League for helping her learn how to build her innings, adding that the league provides players with opportunities to refine their games.

Verma has been a pivotal member of Delhi Capitals, who reached the WPL finals in both the seasons.

"The players get to play a good number of matches in WPL. You get some very good opportunities to make small tweaks here and there in your game," Verma said in a media release.

"Personally, I have learnt how to build my innings while being a part of WPL."

She also credited the WPL for providing players with significant game time and the platform to interact with international cricketers.

"The experience of playing with foreign players is a different learning for all of us. One of the things that I like the most is the way they keep themselves calm and composed on and off the field."

"That is one learning that I have got while playing with the overseas players," she added.

Delhi Capitals are currently conducting a pre-season camp here.

"The preparations are going in full swing. The atmosphere here is really good and everyone is gelling up quite well," Verma said after a training session.

The young opener faced a challenging period in November last year when she was dropped from the ODI squad, but the support from her family kept her motivated.

She finished as the leading run-scorer in the recently held Senior Women's One-Day Challenger Trophy, amassing 414 runs in five matches at an average of 82.80 and a strike rate of 145.26, including one hundred and three fifties. Now, she is determined to make a strong comeback to the national side.

"To be honest, the past few months have been tough for me. My father suffered a heart attack, and just a couple of days later, I was dropped from the ODI squad."

"So, it was a mentally difficult phase, but my father encouraged me, and my family stood by me throughout. I've realised that my job is to score runs whenever I get the opportunity, and that's where I want to focus."

"The only thing in my control is my preparation, if I train well and score runs, I know I can come back stronger," she concluded.

Delhi Capitals will begin their WPL 2025 campaign against Mumbai Indians on February 15 in Vadodara.