India aim to play fearless but smart cricket at 2027 T20 Champions Trophy, says Shafali

India vice-captain Shafali Verma says the team aims to combine fearless cricket with smart decision-making ahead of the 2027 T20 Champions Trophy. She also discusses her comeback, improved consistency, bowling preparation and the responsibility of supporting captain Smriti Mandhana

Raipur: Newly appointed T20I vice-captain Shafali Verma said on Thursday that her role in the Indian team’s leadership group would go beyond the title, adding that the side aims to play a fearless yet smart brand of T20 cricket in next year’s Champions Trophy.

India, now to be captained by Smriti Mandhana, will begin preparations for the inaugural six-team tournament, scheduled to be held in Mumbai and Vadodara in February 2027, when it opens its T20I series against Zimbabwe at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Friday.

“Just talking about vice-captaincy, I have captained the Under-19 team in the World Cup as well. So, I have that experience. I know vice-captaincy is not just a title. It’s a big responsibility. I know we have to take care of each and every player and ensure they are in a good headspace. So, I am just trying to make every player feel comfortable and help the captain,” Shafali said at the pre-match press conference.

She also credited former captain Harmanpreet Kaur for the growth of women’s cricket and said the team had already mapped out its approach for the road ahead.

“Harman di has contributed a lot to the growth of women’s cricket. The current shape of women’s cricket is largely because of Harman di. So, thanks to her. Talking about how we have to move forward in women’s cricket, first of all, we have to play a fearless brand of T20 cricket, with smartness as well.

“We have discussed during this series that we have to play the Champions Trophy with a fearless brand of cricket and smartness. We have had many meetings, so everyone knows what to do, and you can also see the growth. We are just trying to keep growing series by series,” she added.

Shafali, who has been in prolific form with scores of 64, 68, 40 not out, 100 not out and 48, traced her resurgence to the work she put in after being left out of the ODI side in 2025. She was recalled after Pratika Rawal’s injury and made a dramatic return to the ODI World Cup team, capping it with a Player of the Match performance in the final against South Africa in Navi Mumbai.

“When Pratika got injured, I got a direct call to return to the team. Luckily, at that time, I was playing state T20 games for Haryana. So, I worked a lot on myself in 2025, and I think the hard work I put in that year has helped me a lot now. I am just trying to keep my head down and keep learning. Every day brings a new experience, and I am trying to learn from everything,” she said.

Shafali recalled that her time out of the team had forced her to take a hard look at her game.

“In 2025, when I was dropped from the team, I sat down and analysed the areas I needed to work on. First was consistency, followed by fitness, which meant I had to work on my body. Mentally, I had to grow more. I worked hard on these three aspects at that time. I think that is why everything is going well. I am just trying to be more consistent,” she said.

Shafali, who has also been contributing with her off-spin, said she had long prepared for the possibility of bowling at the international level.

“Bowling is nothing new for me because I have been bowling for Haryana since 2021. When I used to bowl for Haryana, I would think that someday I would have to bowl for India. So, I kept myself mentally prepared for how I would approach it if I got to bowl for India. By God’s grace, I have been able to do that. I was mentally prepared, and it is a great thing,” she said.

Aware that opponents now plan specifically for her, Shafali said she recreated different match scenarios in the nets.

“I know that the opposition teams prepare specifically for me. So, I always prepare for that in net sessions. If my hitting is not working well, how do I play along the ground? I put myself in different situations in every net session.

“I think that practice makes it easier for me to go into a match. I have worked on every skill, including short balls, the back-foot punch against spinners and pull shots. I can see a good reflection of that work, so I just have to keep working hard,” she said.

In the absence of injured Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali said the team had coped well with changes in the batting order and backed youngster Niki Prasad to step up.

“Jemi is recovering. But in the Asia Cup and Asian Games, we were very good in the middle order. We did not feel her absence that much.

“The way Richa played, the way Harman di played and now that Niki has come in, hopefully, she will also do well in the middle. We will keep trying different players and work on the areas where we made mistakes earlier,” she said.