India women's star Shafali Verma appointed as captain for ICC U19 Women’s World Cup

India women’s cricketer Shafali Verma was appointed as the skipper of the national U19 women’s squad that will travel to South Africa for a T20 series and will be followed by the ICC U19 Women’s World Cup. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the teams in a statement on Monday. It is pertinent to mention that this will be the maiden edition of the ICC U19 Women’s World Cup, which will be played from January 14 to January 29, 2023. 
 

More about the inaugural edition of the ICC U19 Women’s World Cup

“The All-India Women’s Selection Committee has picked India U19 Women's squad for the upcoming bilateral away T20 series against South Africa U19 and the ICC U19 Women’s World Cup to follow,” BCCI said. The T20 series against South Africa U19 women’s will be played from December 27 to January 4. The five-match T20I series will then be followed by the U19 World Cup.

A total of 16 teams will participate in the ICC U19 Women’s World Cup. India is placed in the Group D alongside South Africa, UAE and Scotland. “The top three teams from each group will progress to the Super Six round, where teams will be pooled into two groups of six. The top two teams from each group will then progress to the semi-finals, which will be played on 27 January at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. The final will take place at the same venue on 29 January,” BCCI’s statement further read.

Shafali Verma’s career so far for the senior India women’s team

Meanwhile, Shafali Verma has emerged as a top-class cricketer for the senior women’s team of India. She is currently 18 years old and made her international debut for India, back in 2019. She has played 46 T20I, 21 WODIs and two Test matches so far and has hammered over 1800 runs for India across the three formats. 

She is known in the cricketing circle for her explosive style of batting, but is yet to score a century for the senior team. Alongside Shafali, Richa Ghosh is another senior India player who will represent the U19 squad at the ICC U19 Women’s World Cup.

India U19 squads for the SA T20s and the ICC Under 19 Women’s World Cup

India U19 Women’s team for SA T20s: Shafali Verma (Captain), Shweta Sehrawat (Vice-Captain), Richa Ghosh (WK), G Trisha, Soumya Tiwari, Sonia Mehdiya, Hurley Gala, Hrishita Basu (WK), Sonam Yadav, Mannat Kashyap, Archana Devi, Parshavi Chopra, Titas Sadhu, Falak Naz, Shabnam MD, Shikha, Najla CMC, Yashashree

India U19 Women’s team for ICC Under 19 Women’s World Cup: Shafali Verma (Captain), Shweta Sehrawat (Vice-Captain), Richa Ghosh (WK), G Trisha, Soumya Tiwari, Sonia Mehdiya, Hurley Gala, Hrishita Basu (WK), Sonam Yadav, Mannat Kashyap, Archana Devi, Parshavi Chopra, Titas Sadhu, Falak Naz, Shabnam MD