India opene Shafali Verma will take over as the new vice-captain of the side in three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe starting in Raipur on Friday.
Share Article
https://www.india.com/sports/cricket/india-women-vs-zimbabwe-women-2026-shafali-verma-opens-up-on-elevation-to-vice-captaincy-says-trying-to-make-every-player-comfortable-8536345/
Team India vice-captain Shafali Verma(Photo: IANS)
IND-W vs ZIM-W 2026: Smriti Mandhana is not the only cricketer to get an elevation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) this monthWhile Mandhana is set to take over the Indian women’s cricket team captaincy from Harmanpreet Kaur in the white-ball series against Zimbabwe this week, she will have a new deputy in Shafali Verma.
Shafali is only 22 years of age and will be the new vice-captain of the Indian T20I team with Mandhana set to make her captaincy debut at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur in first T20I match against Zimbabwe on Friday.
Read more:
WATCH: New Indian women’s team captain Smriti Mandhana begins practicing in nets for Zimbabwe series
Ahead of a felicitation meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning the Asian Games 2026 gold medal in Japan last month, Shafali Verma opened up on the additional responsibility of becoming the vice-captain of the side.
“Just talking about vice-captaincy, I have done captaincy in the Under-19 World Cup as wellSo, I have that experienceI know vice-captaincy is not just a titleIt’s a big responsibilityI know we have to just take care of each and every player and make them in a very good headspaceSo, I am just trying to make every player very comfortable and just help the captain,” Shafali Verma said in the pre-match press conference in Raipur.
Ready for the Zimbabwe Tour of India!
Shafali Verma and Niki Prasad gear up for the T20I series, while Shafali takes the field for the ODI series.
Wishing them the very best for the series!
#ShafaliVerma #NikiPrasad #ZimbabweTourOfIndia #IndianCricket https://t.co/2r5VAG4hRR— JSW Sports (@jswsports) October 15, 2026
Shafali enjoyed a phenomenal run in the Asian Games 2026 with scores of 48, 100 not out and 40 not out as India women cricket team managed to retain their gold medal with easeThe 22-year-old Indian opener credited former captain Harmanpreet Kaur for the growth of the women’s game in the country.
“Harman di has done a lot of growth to women’s cricketThe current shape of women’s cricket, it’s just all about Harman di onlySo, just thanks to her and just talking about how we have to move forward in women’s cricketFirst of all, we have to play a fearless brand of cricket in T20, with smartness as well.
“So, we have just talked in this series that we have to play the Champions Trophy, the fearless brand of cricket with the smartness and we have done lots of meetingsSo, everyone knows what to do and you guys can also see the growthSo, we are just trying to keep growing series by series,” Shafali added.
Shafali has scored 863 runs in 24 T20I matches in 2026 at an average of 39.22 and a strike-rate of 162.83 with 1 hundred and 7 fifties to his nameIt is a remarkable comeback for the Rohtak girl, who made a comeback to the Indian team in the ODI World Cup 2025 after an injury to Pratika Rawal.
“When Pratika got injured, I got a direct call to be back in the teamLuckily, at that time I was playing state T20 games from HaryanaSo, I worked a lot on myself in 2025 and I think that hard work which I did in 2025, it gave me lots of help right nowSo, I am just trying to keep my head down and just keep learning everythingEvery day brings every new experience, and I am just trying to learn everything,” Shafali said.
Shafali also revealed she has been working on her off-spin bowling and prepared for the possibility of bowling at the international level consistently“Bowling is nothing new for me because I have been bowling for Haryana since 2021So, I know when I used to bowl for Haryana, I used to think that someday I will have to bowl for India.
“So, I used to keep myself mentally prepared at that time that if I get bowling in the Indian team, then how do I have to prepareWith God’s grace at that time, I am just trying to get used to the thinking that when I will get bowling in the Indian team, then what do I have to do and luckily I did thatMentally, I have been ahead only and it’s a great thing,” she added.
