MUMBAI: Star Sports has launched a new campaign #TakeOnTheWorld featuring sixteen-year-old Shafali Verma, ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup set to begin Friday on 21 February 2020.
#TakeOnTheWorld uses glimpses of Shafali’s childhood to bring alive her single minded-focus and passion to play the game she loved. The film captures one such moment of her life when she played for her local team with a bunch of boys; standing in for her sick brother.
Shafali’s journey wasn’t easy, but when she came through the ranks, it was well worth it. At 15, she went on to break her idol, Sachin Tendulkar’s 30-year-old record by becoming the youngest Indian to ever score a half-century in international cricket.
Shafali Verma said, “My father has been a strong pillar of support, he is a great player and he trained and coached me too - I am what I am because of my father. My dream was to open for India and make my father proud, the dream that we both had seen together. I am extremely excited to represent India at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which is led by Harmanpreet Kaur, who I believe, is a strong and aggressive player, who keeps the team motivated.”
“I believe in any T20 match, the openers play a very crucial role – if they give a good start, the team can build on a total that is challenging enough for the opponent,” Verma added.
Meanwhile, her father Sanjeev Verma said, “When she was about 8 years old, she used to play cricket with a tennis ball. She was amazed at how the crowd cheered for Sachin Tendulkar while he played for Ranji at Lahli – she wanted to be like him since then. Shafali used to travel 15-20 kilometres every day by cycle for her practice. I only wish and pray she wins the World Cup for the country.”
Team India’s opening batsman Rohit Sharma launched the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign #TakeOnTheWorld on his Twitter handle, he tweeted: “It’s time for ICC Women’s #T20WorldCup and there’s no stopping the Women in Blue, as they #TakeOnTheWorld. Kyunki naam wahi karte hain jo koi mauka nahi chhodte! Cheer for Team India, and watch them LIVE starting 21 February, on Star Sports.”
The world will witness the #WomenInBlue fight for glory on cricket’s biggest stage, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 from 21 February. Team India is already in Australia as it played a T20 tri-series with Australia and England. The women’s team will play against Australia on 21 February at 1.30 PM IST.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be broadcast exclusively on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.
