Smriti Mandhana Says Shafali Verma Still In ‘Scheme Of Things’ For India: ‘Happy She Went Back And…’

Indian stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana on Thursday said Shafali Verma was still in the ‘scheme of things’. Mandhana added that she was ‘really happy’ that Verma went back to domestic cricket and picked back form with a string of good scores.

Shafali last played an ODI for India in late October, during the three-match series against New Zealand. She was ignored for recent white-ball rubbers against Australia, West Indies and the ongoing ODI series against Ireland. In the meantime, Shafali notched a 115-ball 197 for Haryana in the quarter-final of the senior women’s One-Day Trophy against Bengal and followed it up with scores of 95 (65), 91 (71) and 87 (58) in the Challenger Trophy.

“Harman is rested and that was very clear. Shafali in the last two or three one-day series, she’s not been part of the squad. Pratika (Rawal) in the last series has done really well in her absence, but definitely Shafali scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket, so she’s definitely in the scheme of things. I’m really happy that she went back and got those runs,” Mandhana said.

“As a team, we do not have to think what is not there because we want to go out there and have the positive mindset that we have a really balanced squad. The girls who have come in as well are really, really good. We will not think about what is not there,” she added.

Although she had a tough series against New Zealand, Shafali was dropped despite being India’s second-highest run-scorer in ODIs. Even Kaur, who’s suffering from a couple of minor injuries, was asked about the Haryana captain, but she said she wasn’t the ‘right person’ to comment on the absence.

“I can only talk about the team, team is here and what (all) things we can do to win this series. Regarding Shefali or any other player, (it is) better to ask the right persons,” Kaur had said.

On Friday, a New Indian Express report cited a BCCI official as suggesting that Shafali’s fielding ability was an obstacle blocking her selection.

India women are playing the first of three ODIs against Ireland in Saurashtra on Friday. Their next confirmed bilateral assignment is a five-T20I series against England in June.