No Shafali Verma in India’s World Cup Squad – Full Reason Explained

Why Shafali Verma Missed India’s Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 Squad

The Indian women’s cricket team squad for the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, which will be hosted in India, has been named. But the biggest headline was the exclusion of young batting star, Shafali Verma, who missed selection for the 15-member squad and did not get picked in the standby players.

This news will surprise many after the reputation of Shafali as an opening batter who can aggressively open an innings and decimate a bowling attack in the powerplay. However, chief selector, Neetu David, clarified that Shafali is “still in the system” and will be closely monitored by the committee.

Shafali Verma’s been a bit up and down lately.

After coming back to the team against England, she had some good moments, scoring 3, 47, 31, and 75 in some games. But then she struggled again in the Australia A series, with scores of just 3, 3, and 41.

This inconsistency really hurts her, especially in the 50-over games where you need to build a solid innings.

In her ODI career so far (until 2025), she’s played 29 matches, scored 644 runs, with an average of 23.00 and a strike rate of 83.2.

What she does best: She’s really aggressive during the powerplay overs.

What’s worrying: She’s not consistent and often can’t turn good starts into big scores.

Selectors’ Decision – Why Shafali Missed Out

Neetu David said to the media:

“Shafali has played the Australia A series. She is in the system, it is not that she is not. We have our eyes on that talent. Hopefully she gets to play a lot more and gains experience, that will be good for India in the 50-over format.”

This in itself indicates the selectors view Shafali as part of India’s future but opted for players that offered consistency and experience for the forthcoming home World Cup.

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Pratika Rawal is replacing Shafali on the team.

Pratika Rawal has been playing great. Her ODI stats: 703 runs in 14 games, averaging 54.00, with one century.

She’s good at keeping the score moving, playing for a long time, and working with other players. That’s why she was picked over Shafali.

Shafali’s ODI average is 23 which doesn’t show how good she is. But for the World Cup, the selectors wanted someone they could count on.

Standby Players Named

Interestingly, Shafali Verma was not even named among the standbys, which include:

• Tejal Hasabnis
• Prema Rawat
• Priya Mishra
• Uma Chetry
• Minnu Mani
• Sayali Satghare

Shafali Verma stands out as one of India’s top cricket stars, loved for her bold hits. Yet, her not being picked shows that the team selectors look for consistency and adaptability player in ODIs over bold, risk-filled player, at least for this World Cup at home.

For Shafali, this might be a nudge to better her mood and the way she builds her game. At just 21, she still has time, and a good run in home games could get her back in the ODI mix soon.

Leaving Shafali Verma out of India’s Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 team has sparked talk, but the selectors’ choice points to their need for know-how and trust as they aim for a big World Cup win on home ground.

Though it seems tough on Shafali, it paves the way for others like Pratika Rawal to emerge. For fans in India, there’s still hope that Shafali will be back in form and wear the blue jersey again soon.