'Everyone approved of Shafali as Pratika's replacement in a 30-second meeting' - Harmanpreet Kaur recalls big moment in Women's ODI World Cup 2025

Amol Muzumdar, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Smriti Mandhana reflected on India being forced to find a replacement for the injured Pratika Rawal during the Women's ODI World Cup last year and eventually picking Shafali Verma.

Pratika sustained an ankle injury during a rain-affected game against Bangladesh ahead of the knockouts. Head coach Muzumdar said that he was pretty worried after watching the in-form opening batter limping during the game.

"My heart sank when she got injured. As a coach, you can't do much about it. All you can do is keep your emotions in check. But there was a storm going on in my mind. When I watched her limp off, I thought that was the last thing we wanted," Muzumdar said on JioStar’s ‘Unstoppable.

Captain Harmanpreet recalled that the team hoped Rawal would recover in time, but when that possibility was ruled out, it took them only a 30-second meeting to agree on bringing Shafali Verma in as her replacement.

"We first asked about Pratika. But sir told us multiple times that there was no chance of her coming back. After that, it was just a 30-second meeting. We all came together, and everybody said, 'Shafali, Shafali, Shafali,' and that was it. Everybody was clear about who should come in, even though she was not among the standbys. Everyone from the BCCI was very confident that Shafali would come in and smash it. Their confidence made us even more positive."

The move to bring in Shafali paid dividends as the opening batter amassed 87 off just 78 balls in the final against South Africa and won the Player of the Match award.

Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said that she had advised Shafali to take the semi-final and final as domestic matches and play freely.

"Having international experience was very important, and it had to be an opener as well. In big matches, sometimes you need that X-factor. Everyone felt there was no better person than Shafali for that job. I told her one thing after her first practice session, that she was in the team because of her performances. She had done extremely well in domestic cricket, dominating every bowling attack possible. I told her to treat the remaining games like domestic matches, go out there and enjoy herself. And what better stage to enjoy than the semi-final and the final?" Smriti mentioned.

Shafali admitted that being left out of the initial squad was a tough pill to swallow for her and she decided to double down on her practice with an eye on improving every facet of her game. She explained how her family members helped her during the difficult phase.

"Missing out on the World Cup squad for a tournament in India was one of the saddest feelings for me. But as they say, God has plans for everyone. The initial days were very difficult because everywhere I went, people kept asking why I wasn’t in the team. Eventually, I accepted it and focused on what I could control. I found a quiet space with just my brother and father around me and told myself this was the time to work harder than ever on my game. I even told my brother to be strict with me and call me out whenever he felt I was easing off or not giving my best during practice," the right-handed batter said.

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Shafali said that after hearing about her call-up, she felt bad for Rawal before preparing herself mentally to face the challenges in the World Cup.

"I was at the hotel, playing with a friend, when I saw a call from my manager. I wasn't following the team's matches a lot, so I wasn't aware what had happened. So, he told me that Pratika had been injured and that I needed to come in. I felt bad for her because no one wants a sportsperson to get injured, but at the same time I started thinking about how quickly I needed to get mentally prepared for a World Cup semi-final. After being out of the team for nearly a year, it wasn’t an easy switch to make all of a sudden," she added.