Bangladesh pacer Jahanara Alam lauds Shafali Verma for bravery after U19 World Cup win: She is confident and fearless

Bangladesh fast bowler Jahanara Alam said that Shafali Verma’s brave and fearless approach has helped her taste success at various levels in her career.

Recently the 19-year-old Shafali captained India to victory in the U19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa. India defeated Grace Scrivens’ England by seven wickets in the final at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom. After bowling the opposition out for 68, India chased down the target with 36 balls to spare.

Shafali finished as the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament after she scored 172 runs from seven matches at an average of 24.57 and a strike rate of 193.26.

Jahanara, who is currently in South Africa for the senior Women’s World Cup, congratulated Shafali and praised her for living up to expectations in the U19 World Cup.

“The one thing common in Shafali when I first saw her and now is bravery. She plays fearless cricket. The confidence and fearlessness she has are necessary for every cricketer. These qualities were in the beginning and they are still there in Shafali. These qualities will help her grow as a cricketer.

“She is skillful and a power-hitter and has the potential to make use of the power-play and get big scores,” Jahanara told India Today in an exclusive interview.

“She does her job with precision and that’s why she is successful. Since she is already a member of the national team, she was made the skipper of the U19 team. Big congratulations to her for winning the U19 World Cup and it’s a big achievement for her,” she stated.

BANGLADESH WILL PLAY TO WIN

In the U19 World Cup, Bangladesh pulled off a major upset after beating Australia by seven wickets at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. After restricting the Aussies to 130, Bangladesh chased down the target in 18 overs after Dilara Akter’s 42-ball 40.

When asked if the senior team could replicate the same against Meg Lanning’s Australia in the World Cup, Jahanara said that Bangladesh would go in with a winning mentality against every team, not only the defending world champions.

“The U19 World Cup and senior World Cups are completely different. The platforms are entirely different. We have received loads of praise for beating Australia and winning five out of six matches. Without a doubt, our U19 girls played fearless cricket,” she said.

“If you look at the senior teams, Australia are ahead of us in rankings, experience, and every other aspect. It’s our fifth World Cup and we are even experienced. But having not played much against each other, we don’t know each other much,” Jahanara said.

“In the World Cup, we want to leave our mark, be it against Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Australia, and New Zealand. Our group is very strong and we are looking forward to playing well against every team. We will play to win,” she added.

Bangladesh will start their campaign in the World Cup with a Group A match against Sri Lanka on Sunday, February 12 at Newlands in Cape Town.