Worked on fitness and believed in the process: Shafali shares comeback journey to Indian team

Nottingham, June 28 (IANS) India opener Shafali Verma revealed that she worked on her fitness and believed in the process after being dropped from the team last year. The youngster said she has learned how to deal with setbacks during her time away from the team.

Picked for the five-match T20I series against England, Shafali will don the Indian jersey on Saturday for the first time after eight months.

“I worked on my fitness for 20-25 days. I picked up the bat after 20-25 days and I felt very good. That gave me a different kind of energy, a different feeling. Time teaches you a lot of things. I will do my best and leave the rest to destiny," Shafali told BCCI in an interview.

“Whenever you make a comeback you encounter tough situations, but when you are back in the team environment, it is a very good feeling. I am very happy that I could make a comeback," she added.

Recalling her comeback trail, the 21-year-old revealed her father suffered a heart attack just 10 days before her omission from the side last year.

“Just 10 days before my selection (for the series against Australia), my dad suffered a heart attack. That was a very tough situation for me and after that I did not get selected in the team. I did not know what was happening.

However, her father’s condition improved and he helped Shafali to hone her skills.

“After my dad recovered, he made me work a lot on my fitness before the domestic season. It was an up-down period for me, and I think it’s important to face such situations as only then you can become a strong person.”

“If a player has savoured good days, he or she should also be ready for bad days. One should be ready to digest both, and only then you can become a star," she added.

The right-handed batter added watching legendary Sachin Tendulkar's Test knocks helped her to rejig her batting style and pay respect to good balls.

“Earlier I used to think of scoring a four or a six off every ball, but then I realised that it’s important to give respect to a good ball. I saw Sachin (Tendulkar) sir’s Test innings and got a lot of motivation from that,” Shafali said.

“It reminded me of my childhood days when I used to not even miss a single game of his. I covered almost every match again. Watching that, I learned that the only way to build a good innings is by respecting the good deliveries," she added.

During her time away from the national team, Shafali was determined to make the most of every opportunity to score runs in domestic cricket.

“I though wherever I get an opportunity, I will only think about scoring runs. I am not going to think about the future. And then WPL came. I said to myself that I will remain only in the present and forget about the future. Being in the present was the biggest motivation for me.

“When my name came for the T20 series against England, my dad said ‘only focus on your work, and leave the rest to destiny’. I think, this is the time to win the series in England. I’ve played here before so I know the factors (that influence the game) well. Getting the jersey back after a long time is a moment to cherish," she concluded.

--IANS

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