We had a great South Africa series, we are well prepared for Asia Cup: Shafali Verma

Young India opener Shafali Varma looked ruthless in the one-off Test against South Africa in June. The 20-year-old failed to deliver in the opening T20I but made sure to finish the game in the final match of the series. Shafali took a lot of confidence from that and is hoping to apply the same in the 2024 Women’s Asia Cup.

The Haryana-born cricketer clarified that she won’t compromise on playing aggressively as that is the role assigned to her. She said that she wants to use the powerplay and give good starts to India as they hope to defend their crown. She added that the team is ready as the preparations have been good and hopes to have a good season as the T20 World Cup is also around the corner.

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“I think the preparations are good because we had a great South Africa series and we are all well prepared for Asia Cup. I hope our team does well and I can contribute for my team. You get confidence when you win the Asia Cup. And we will surely try to do well in the Asia Cup and win it. I think my role is to go and use the powerplay. The team gets benefits a lot from the strike rate I play usually. So, my role is to be settle at the middle and score for the team,” Shafali said on Star Sports.

Asia Cup important for T20 World Cup preparations: Harmanpreet Kaur

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur also underscored the importance Asia Cup, keeping in mind the T20 World Cup, which will be hosted in Bangladesh later in the year. She added that every game of the continental tournament holds importance as it will give the team a better knowledge of where they stand before the World Cup.

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“This tournament is very important for all of us to prepare ourselves for the T20 World Cup. But at the same time, we always give equal respect to this tournament, because if you do well in an Asian tournament, you'll always improve your cricket at the world level," Harmanpreet said at the pre-tournament press conference.