Women's Asia Cup 2022: 3 reasons why it could be a big tournament for Shafali Verma

The Women's Asia Cup 2022 is set to commence on Saturday, October 1, in Bangladesh and India will kickstart their campaign against Sri Lanka in Sylhet on the same day.

One of India's pivotal cogs in recent times has been teenage sensation Shafali Verma. The maverick opening batter from Rohtak has formed a strong partnership with vice-captain Smriti Mandhana at the top of the order over the last couple of years.

That said, she has blown hot and cold with the bat in recent times and will be keen to have a decent outing in the Women's Asia Cup 2022. Should she get going at the top of the order along with Mandhana, it'll only add to the narrative around the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side starting the tournament as favorites.

On that note, let's look at three reasons as to why the upcoming Women's Asia Cup could be a big tournament for Shafali.

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#1 Shafali Verma could be under pressure owing to her recent form

Shafali's numbers in T20Is this calendar year do grave injustice to her talent. The prodigious opener has mustered 238 runs from 12 games at a sub-20 average and a strike rate of 123.31, failing to register a single half-century along the way.

She was also dropped in the middle of the 50-over World Cup earlier this year, but made a return to the playing XI towards the end of India's campaign. She endured a forgettable ODI series in England as well, with Mandhana having to do the bulk of the heavy-lifting.

A lot will depend on India's talismanic opening pair. This could definitely prove to be a huge Women's Asia Cup campaign for Shafali, who will be keen to turn her fortunes around.

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#2 Competition for spots in the side

There is no denying the fact that a number of batters are jostling for a permanent spot in the playing XI as far as the Women in Blue are concerned. This makes it all the more imperative for Shafali to make her opportunities count in the Women's Asia Cup.

Dayalan Hemalatha and Kiran Prabhu Navgire were rewarded for their fine display in the Women's Senior T20 Trophy and were part of the T20I contingent that toured England. While both are middle-order options, India can always fall back on Sabbhineni Meghana or Jemimah Rodrigues to open the innings should the need arise.

With a number of players breathing down her neck, Shafali needs to have a massive tournament to stamp her authority on that opening spot.

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#3 Technical chinks in her game

Ever since Katherine Brunt deployed the short ball ploy to great effect last year, it has become a template for bowlers around the world against Shafali. More recently, the metronomic Kate Cross used the inswinger to great effect with the opener's lack of footwork coming back to bite her.

If India's opponents at the Women's Asia Cup have made due note of her frailties, they will revert to these strategies in the marquee tournament.

The progress made by the teenage sensation in this regard will be under immense scrutiny and could mark a tournament where she comes of age should she counter her chinks effectively.

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