From Lahli to Navi Mumbai: Shafali Verma’s return gift to heartthrob Sachin Tendulkar | Cricket News

New Delhi: The last time Shafali Verma’s father Sanjeev Verma closed his jewelry store for four days was in 2013, when Sachin Tendulkar was in Rohtak, playing his last first-class match at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Lahli.Sanjeev was then forced by his nine-year-old daughter to take him to the stadium to catch a glimpse of Tendulkar, whose poster she had bought at the Dussehra fair a few weeks earlier.

He remembers very well how he had to carry his daughter on his shoulders so that she could see her idol.“Jeena mushkil kar diya tha Sachin ko dekhne ke liye (She had made my life difficult just to see Sachin). She was very young and played cricket with a tennis ball. But after the last day, when Sachin scored 79 runs and Mumbai won the match, she told me, ‘Daddy, ab bahut hua tennis ball, ab Sachin ki tarah leather se khelna hai’ (Enough with the tennis ball, now I want to play with the leather ball like Sachin),” Sanjeev told TimesofIndia.com after his daughter’s exploits in the ICC Women’s World Cup final in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.On Sunday, things came full circle for Shafali. She gave India a World Cup in the garden of her idol, under the eyes of Tendulkar from the stands.It seemed written in the stars that Shafali would play a big role in India’s maiden Women’s World Cup triumph, with Tendulkar cheering her on in every race, just as she had cheered him on 12 years ago in Lahli.“When people chanted ‘Shafali, Shafali’ on our street, it took me back to 2013, when Shafali shouted ‘Sachiiin, Sachiiin’ to Lahli,” said an emotional father.Shafali, who was not even a standby and was part of Haryana State’s squad in Surat for the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, was called up after in-form Pratika Rawal was ruled out due to injury in India’s last league match against Bangladesh.“She is usually a very confident kid, but I felt a bit of nervousness in her eyes,” said Mahipal Singh, coach of the Haryana women’s team.“I told him, ‘You have this. The management knows your importance and that’s why they called you. Just be yourself, a destructive opener. This is your chance to shine. You are the chosen one,'” Mahipal recalled.After India reached the final, the nerves caught up with Shafali. With the exception of the first U-19 World Cup final in 2023, they had never won a final. His WPL franchise – Delhi Capitals – had lost three finals. The T20 World Cup final defeat to Australia at the MCG and the Commonwealth Games final defeat in Birmingham still haunt her.Shafali, who found herself in a shell after being left out of the World Cup squad, cried her heart out in front of her father. On the eve of the grand finale, she called her family.“I know my daughter. I knew right away something was wrong. After she spoke to everyone, I took the cell phone, sat in another room and asked her what was wrong. She said, “Dad, darr lag raha hai, final mein record acha nahi hai mera (I’m scared, I don’t have a good record in finals),” Sanjeev shared.“I reminded her of the day she was dropped to the side. I told her she had been through worse. She is 21 and has already seen enough ups and downs. I reminded her of her journey – when I had cut her hair as a boy so she could play cricket, when she first went to the Ram Narain Academy. I told her that her god, Sachin, would be watching the match. She calmed down and the way she played was breathtaking,” he said.Former Haryana opener and former state team coach Ashwani Kumar has been coaching Shafali for the past four years.“She came to us when she was nine and I was fascinated by her potential. She was no match for the girls at my academy, so I made her play with the U-19 boys. She used to take those bowlers to the cleaners. She is a natural talent, just like Sachin. For her, offense is the best defense,” Ashwani said.Since her emergence on the teenage scene, Shafali had difficulty living up to expectations. Inconsistency crept in. His fitness became an issue and his inability to rotate the strike cost him a place in the ODI side. However, she remained part of India’s Test and T20I setups.Krushmi Chheda Pawar, sports scientist and performance nutritionist, who has been working with the Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) for three years, spoke about Shafali’s fitness journey.“Yes, she lost a few kilos. She worked tirelessly on her fitness, but it took her time to reach this level,” Krushmi said.“A 16-year-old boy is different from a girl of the same age. After puberty, boys tend to lose body fat, but for girls it’s the opposite. It becomes more difficult for female athletes.”“She focused on her overall fitness – her diet, her nutrition and her strength training. It’s all come together now. She realized that nutrition is not just about losing weight, but also about recovering. With experience, she became more disciplined,” Krushmi added.After ticking the fitness box, Shafali worked on his game, including strike rotation and bowling. The two clicked on Sunday. She bowled 37 singles and five twos with seven boundaries and two sixes during her 78-ball 87 in the final. Then, she picked up two crucial wickets – Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp – which derailed South Africa’s chase.“She is regularly playing her full quota for Haryana. She has stopped playing cross-shots, following the advice of her WPL captain Meg Lanning. She has tweaked her technique a bit. Earlier, her head was tilted slightly back; now, she positions it slightly forward, which has improved her perception of the height and length of the ball,” Mahipal said.“At Rohtak, we worked on his strike rotation, got to a limit and then looked for singles unless it was in your arc. The results have started to show, and now we will work on his game against short length bowling,” he added.Shafali is still only 21 years old. At nine years old, she dreamed of playing 20 years for her country after seeing Sachin in Lahli. This dream is still alive and thanks to the presence of her idol at the DY Patil stadium, she found calm and inspiration.“When I saw Sachin sir, I had an incredible feeling. I keep talking with him; he always gives me confidence. But I got goosebumps seeing him today,” she said during the post-match presentation.After all these years, Shafali remains in awe of Sachin and the legend still inspires her. But there is a small difference: now, in the middle of “Sachin!” Sachin! » sings, she also hears “Shafali! Shafali!”