"Female Virender Sehwag" joins Team India's World Cup Squad, Replacing Injured Pratika Rawal

Shafali Verma, the explosive right-handed opening batter of Team India, often termed as the 'Female Virender Sehwag' is set to make her highly-anticipated comeback to the Indian Women's National Cricket Team's squad as she replaces the injured Pratika Rawal ahead of the semi-final match of the ICC Women's ODI World Cup versus Australia.

She's set to link up with the rest of her teammates before the crucial knockout game versus the Mighty Australians on the 30th of October in Navi Mumbai and will be available for selection in the playing 11 right away.

While India Women's World Cup squad was announced two months ago in Ausgust, Verma was surprisingly omitted from the squad and in her place, Pratika Rawal was picked as the opening partner of vice-captain Smriti Mandhana as the selection committee wanted consistent performances rather than the X-Factor. The right-handed batter hasn't taken part in One-Day International Cricket for the Women in Blue since October of 2024 but has been constantly plying her trade for India-A in the ODI Format.

In the domestic one-dayers for Haryana in December 2024, the 21-year-old also amassed 524 runs at an average of 75.26 and a mindblowing strike rate of 152.30, with a high of 197 off 115 balls versus Bengal. She then went on to have an incredible WPL 2025 season with the three-time runners up Delhi Capitals, where she was the most productive Indian batter with 302 runs at a strike rate of 152.70, ranking fourth in the season's top run-getter list.

Shafali might immediately enter the starting lineup for the semi-final matchup against Australia as Rawal's substitute. But given how successful the duo of Rawal and Mandhana were at the World Cup, she will have enormous shoes to fill. Two of the tournament's top five batting partnerships, 210 run partnership against New Zealand and 153 against Australia involved the two. With scores of 75 against Australia and a game-winning knock of 122 runs against Sophie Devine-led New Zealand in the league stage, Pratika herself averaged 51.33 in six innings.

In the last league-stage match between India and Bangladesh, Rawal, the tournament's second-highest run scorer, hurt herself while Bangladesh was batting. In the twenty-first over of Bangladesh's innings, Rawal attempted to stop a boundary, but her ankle twisted as she fell to the ground after her foot seemed to get trapped in the grass. In the match that was ultimately called off without a conclusion, Amanjot Kaur opened in her place, and she did not bat afterward. Rawal has more runs than anybody else in this World Cup, except for her opening-partner Mandhana.

India may choose to start with the opening pair of Mandhana and Harleen Deol in the knockout match against Australia if Shafali does not immediately make the starting lineup. Jemimah Rodrigues, who has opened 18 times in 50-over cricket, and Uma Chetry, who opened the inning in the warm-up match against New Zealand, are more options.

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