India Women Gear Up for Asia Cup 2024 Opener Against Pakistan

Ahead of their first match in the Women's Asia Cup 2024 against Pakistan, India's Shafali Verma discussed her role as an opening batter. The defending champions are set to pursue an eighth title, benefiting from recent series victories that boost their confidence and preparations for the tournament.

As the Women's Asia Cup 2024 gets underway, India Women's team is gearing up for their opening clash against Pakistan this Friday in Dambulla. Shafali Verma, a key player, shed light on her role and the team's preparations.

Verma emphasized the positive momentum the team has gained from recent successes, including a series win against South Africa. She mentioned on Star Sports, 'My role is to go and use the power play. The team benefits a lot from the strike rate I play usually, so my role is to settle in the middle and score for the team.'

India has shown strong form leading to this tournament, with dominant performances in bilateral series against South Africa and Bangladesh, despite a mixed record against Australia. These matches are critical as India readies itself not just for the Asia Cup but also for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup in October.

Here is the squad for the Women's Asia Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan. Reserves include Shweta Sehrawat, Saika Ishaque, Tanuja Kanwer, and Meghna Singh.

(With inputs from agencies.)