Young Shafali Verma will be India's superstar, says Danielle Wyatt

Velocity batswoman Danielle Wyatt lauded her teammate and 15-year-old Shafali Verma, calling her the next superstar for India after her promising knock of 34 against Trailblazers in the Women's T20 Challenge at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday.

"Shafali is going to be a superstar for India probably in a year or so. I think she'll break into India team. She stood out for me in the nets from day one as soon as we got into nets. I saw this girl batting, didn't think she was this young but then the coach said she is only 15," Wyatt said after the match.

 

"She's going to be incredible. She was properly striking the ball. She was really nice to bat with. I kept telling her to hit straight. I think on that wicket if you poke that's when you're in trouble. I told her to keep whacking it. She knows all the bowlers well," she added.

When asked about the flurry of wickets in the 18th over when Velocity needed just two runs, the English cricketer said, "I don't know what play they were playing. I did say play it straight because there's no spin. So you hit straight, hit the fielders hard. Me and Hayley (Matthews) were like what's going on. I guess, we made it entertaining for the crowd."

Trailblazers' Deepti Sharma came to bowl the 18th over when Velocity were 111/4. The off-spinner bowled Mithali Raj (17), and Shikha Pandey and Amelia Kerr for a golden duck each. However, on the last delivery, Sushree Dibyadarshini finally got Velocity over the line.

Reflecting on the wicket, Wyatt said, "I thought it was a lot easier to hit straight down the ground (especially against compatriot Sophie Ecclestone). It was a little skiddy as well so didn't want to do sweeping. If the required run-rate was higher, probably would have done some more because she was bowling outside off stump."

"I think the wicket was really good. I learned we need to hit the pockets. So extra-cover, mid-wicket pocket and just hit straight and get to pitch the ball which we did a lot better than they (Trailblazers) did. They hit the fielders in the deep a lot more than what we did. The wicket played fine. We found the gaps more than they did," she added.

Velocity will next meet Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas on May 9 at the same venue at 7:30 pm (IST).