World number one women’s batter and India’s teen batting sensation Shafali Verma is likley to play for Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural edition of The Hundred and is also expected to feature for a Sydney franchise in the Women’s Big bash League (WBBL) later in the year.
Shafali, 17, thus will join her skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma in the 100-ball tournament in England, which will feature eight teams both from the men’s and women’s category.
If reports are to be believed, Shafali has been approached by Birmingham franchise and the deal is on the verge of getting done.
Significantly, The Hundred scheduled to be held last year but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will now start on July 21 with the women’s match between the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals in London.
It will be the first overseas T20 competition for Shafali, who has emerged as a powerful striker in world cricket with 617 runs at a strike rate of 148.31 in 22 international matches.
Meanwhile, in an another development in women’s cricket, the head coach of Indian team will be picked this week by the Madan Lal-led Cricket Advisory Committee.
As many as 35 applicants, including incumbent W V Raman and five female coaches, have applied for the post.