• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Shafali Verma On Radar Of The Hundred Teams As Replacement Candidate

Shafali Verma on radar of The Hundred teams as replacement candidate

Indian eves’ dynamic T20I opener, Shafali Verma might be the fifth woman cricketer from the country to play in the inaugural edition of The Hundred. The 17-year-old is being looked upon as a replacement for South African cricketers, five of whom have been signed up for the eight-team tournament. 

Four Indians in T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, all-rounder Deepti Sharma and middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues have already been signed by Manchester Originals, Southern Brave, London Spirit and Northern Superchargers respectively for the tournament that begins on July 21. 

South Africa’s Chloe Tryon, Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee, skipper Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp have contracts from various sides of The Hundred. However, since flights from the rainbow nation have been suspended to the United Kingdom since December 2020, it would be very tough for the players to make it to the competition. 

Although India is also on the red list for travel to the UK due to the deadly second wave of Coronavirus, the Indian Men’s and Women’s teams are scheduled to tour England in June according to ICC’s Future Tour Programs. Hence it would be easier for Indian women to be available for the tournament than the South African contingent. 

Verma, the number one T20I batter in ICC'S rankings for Women, has so far played 22 T20Is scoring 617 runs at an average which is touching 30 and a dangerous strike rate of 148. The youngest Indian T20I debutant has three fifties and a best of 73 in her kitty as well.

Discover more

Top Stories
news

James Anderson points to Roger Federer, Chris Thompson to dismiss suggestions of slowing down

One of the greatest pace bowlers to ever play the Test matches, England’s James Anderson has said that he gets frustrated when people suggest him to slow down due to his age in order to continue executing his plans and performance for his side. "The thing that frustrates me the most... And it happens in this country more than most: you get to a certain age and people begin saying you have to start slowing down or you’re losing the ability to do your job. But I’m not sure from my own experience that’s the case," Anderson said to The Guardian. Instead, he draws inspiration from stalwarts of other sports who have not dropped their guard down and improved their performances with age. He pointed towards the success of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Tom Brady, Roger Federer, Chris Thompson while dismissing those suggestions of slowing down in order to fight an ageing body. "And you draw comfort from seeing people across other sports, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic getting another contract at Milan [aged 39], Tom Brady winning his seventh Super Bowl at 43, Roger Federer [39] overcoming injuries or Chris Thompson qualifying for the Olympic marathon at 40. It makes you think, why should I start slowing down?" Anderson added. However, Anderson said he will miss Test cricket the most after his retirement. He said the fact that Test cricket seeks intensity over five days takes players on a rollercoaster of emotions which he will find hard to substitute when his playing days will be over for England. "Do you know what, that’s the bit I’ll miss the most? There is nothing like it. Cricket has moved away from the image of cucumber sandwiches and big teas. It’s intense and Test cricket is five days of having to cope with that. It takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions and challenges you physically as well. It’s amazing. I just love it. I know I won’t ever be able to find a substitute for it. When I do eventually retire, hopefully, it will be when I have had enough and so I enjoy whatever comes next. I know it’s going to be different. But that’s life,” Anderson added. Addressing the question if he is seeking to achieve any personal milestone, Anderson said that he is not aspiring for any specific personal goal and instead he is working towards contributing to the growth of the highly competitive England team. "There’s no real goals for me, personally. I honestly don’t look at the number of wickets I want to take or anything like that. I just look at the talent we’ve got in the England Test team and I feel I can still offer something on and off the field. And I love being a part of that growth." Anderson is the most successful pace bowler to have played the longest format with 614 scalps from 160 Test matches at an astounding average of 26.46 runs per wicket and strike rate of 55.9 balls per wicket.

news

Virat Kohli starts Covid-19 relief movement

India skipper Virat Kohli had returned to Mumbai after the IPL 2021 was suspended for an indefinite time with immediate effect earlier this week. There had been COVID-19 cases within the franchise team that led the BCCI to take the decision as a precautionary measure. Now, Kohli has begun the process of working towards providing relief to those affected by COVID-19. Rahul N Kanal, a member of Yuva Sena, the Shiv Sena's youth wing posted a picture on social media that said, “Meeting our Captain...Respect and love for the movement he has started working on for COVID relief... No words just Respect and Prayers for all his efforts !!!" Earlier, Virat’s better half and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma had said that the couple was planning for the same and would be executing something very soon. The Royal Challengers Bangalore which is led by Kohli had also pledged to provide financial support to contribute for the infrastructure related to oxygen support. The RCB players had to don a blue jersey in solidarity with the country's frontline workers but the suspension of the tournament put a halt on the team’s plans. The country has seen a sudden rise in the COVID-19 cases. KKR’s Sandeep Warrior and Varun Chakravarthy, SRH’s Wriddhiman Saha, DC’s Amit Mishra and CSK’s bowling coach L.Balaji had tested positive for COVID-19. The Bangalore-based franchise was having a decent run in this IPL after they had won five of the seven matches that they had played.