Mithali Raj wants Shafali Verma to play her natural game at Bristol on Sunday. The free-stroking opener is expected to make her ODI debut in the first of the three-match series against England.
The expectations are high about the 17-year-old after her sensational start to her Test career a few days ago at the same venue, with scores of 96 and 63. Mithali said, as a captain, she would encourage her to play the way she enjoyed playing.
“There will be times when she gives us head starts, and we would love her to be consistent, but she is a young kid and will learn with experience,” said Mithali at a virtual press conference on Saturday.
The skipper said India was going into the three-match series in a confident frame of mind, after doing well to save the one-off Test, though she conceded England would have the advantage of playing at home.
“England is one of the best sides in the world,” she said. “But we have players who have had the experience of playing the league here and we would get inputs from them about preparing against the England squad.”
About the early end to the Test match, when debutants Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia had chances of reaching a hundred and fifty respectively, she said she was surprised. “Sneh told me it was a bad-light call taken by the umpires,” Mithali said. “When the umpires saw both the teams congratulating each other, it was pretty much taken the match was over.”
