Reason Behind India's Exclusion of Shafali Varma from the World Cup Team Squad
In a surprising turn of events, India have omitted Shafali Varma from their 15-member squad for the upcoming Women's World Cup. The decision comes after a series of poor performances from the young opener.
Shafali Varma, who made her ODI debut in June 2021 in England, scored 522 runs in her initial year at an average of 30.70, with four fifties. However, her form dipped over the next few months. In her next 11 ODIs, she managed only 122 runs at 11.09, with a highest score of 33. Her last forty-plus knock in the format was in July 2022, and she failed to cross 15 in eight innings since September 2022.
Neetu David, chairperson of selectors, stated that they don't want to make a lot of changes to the team and that Shafali is doing well. However, concerns over her form and fitness seem to have played a part in her exclusion from the squad.
Pratika Rawal, on the other hand, has been in exceptional form. She has played 14 games, making 703 runs with one fifty and five hundreds. Notably, she is the fastest to 500 runs in the format, reaching the milestone in just eight innings. Pratika Rawal has replaced Shafali Varma as opener for the Women's World Cup.
The Indian squad, led by Harmanpreet Kaur and including Smriti Mandhana as vice-captain, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Sneh Rana, and Renuka Singh, will begin their World Cup campaign on September 30 against Sri Lanka.
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