India Women have named their replacement for the injured player Pratika Rawal. Shafali Verma will take her place for the upcoming semifinals match against defending champions, Australia Women, scheduled on October 30, 2025, at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.
The appointment came into effect due to the incident that occurred during the final league stage match on October 26th against Bangladesh Women. In the 21st over of the Bangladesh innings, Rawal twisted her ankle after falling to the ground while attempting to stop a boundary going towards the mid-wicket. Later news confirmed that she will remain unfit and exit from the tournament after sustaining knee and ankle injuries.
After being left out of the team’s main 15 and reserve squads, Shafali has got the call, but a little late. The 21-year-old reserve player Tejal Hasabnis was the only other option left, out of which the selectors brought in Shafali in the main squad for the semis.
Shafali Verma’s recent statistics
Since October 2024, Shafali hasn’t played an ODI match for India. However, she has been in great form, as witnessed from her performance as part of the India A squad. As part of the team, she scored two fifties, a 52 against Australia A in August at Brisbane and a 70 against New Zealand A in September at Bengaluru.
In the 2025 season, she had a sensational run in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) playing for Delhi Capitals. She was picked up by DC for crores at the auction. In that season of the tournament, she scored 304 runs at a strike rate of 152.76, becoming the fourth-highest scorer of the season.
Showcasing her brilliance across the three formats, Shafali captained India to its maiden Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup title and has scored a record-breaking double century in a Test double century. She is a silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games and has appeared in several World Cup matches.
As for her overall career statistics, she has scored 644 runs in 29 WODIs at a strike rate of 83.20. In five WTest innings, she has amassed 567 runs at a strike rate of 74.31. Meanwhile, in 90 WT20I matches, she has scored 2221 runs at a strike rate of 131.03.
Shafali last appeared for the India Women’s team in the five-match WT20Is during their England tour in July. In the series, she was the second-highest scorer with 176 runs in five innings at an average of 35.20. She, however, was not part of the three-match series on the tour.
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