Trying to focus on building my innings, says Shafali Verma

The 20-year-old said that the message from the team management has been about believing in herself and backing your strengths. While there is no doubt about her batting ability, one of the concerns raised was about her fielding. Although she didn’t do much wrong in that department on Sunday, one has to wait and see how things are going forward.

For Verma, the focus has been on spending time in the middle and playing the long innings. She admits that not much has changed in terms of her batting technique but is trying to build the innings and convert starts. She is aware of the fact that the longer she stays, the higher the possibility of her team winning.

“I am trying to focus on building my innings. As you all know, my starts are good but building an innings remains an issue. But now, I am focusing on how to get those singles, how to build the innings and how to do well for the team. That is what I am trying to do,” she said. “And yeah, if I play long innings, as you can see, the team is winning,” Verma added.

On Wednesday, she will be getting on the field at Chepauk, taking on Team C in the final. She enjoys being the captain and wants to get her hands on the trophy. Meanwhile, she is not taking every match lightly and wants to start from scratch every time she walks out to bat. “Every innings starts from zero. For the final also the innings will begin in zero and as I know, the team needs me a lot in the batting (department). So that is what I am trying, to try and build the innings well and we win the trophy,” she signed off.