Shafali Verma has the potential to become one of the top players in world cricket with her sheer batting talent, Sachin Tendulkar said ahead of her anticipated Test debut against England on Wednesday.
India will be playing a Test match after seven years and the 17-year-old, who has only played T20I before, is set to make her foray into the longer format.
The Indian cricket great believed that she is a player who can change the game based on her ability to keep the audience hooked with her blistering batting style.
“She will be one of the key members of not Indian but world cricket because she has the skill and ability to attract attention and keep audience engaged when she is batting,” Tendulkar told PTI on Tuesday.
The teenager opener had broken Sachin Tendulkar’s 30-year-old record in 2019 when she became the youngest Indian cricketer to score a half-century in international cricket, her 49-ball 73 in the West Indies.
Tendulkar spoke about the time he met the teen sensation and said she made him revisit his debut as a prodigious 16-year-old when he had batted manfully against Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.
“When we were in Australia to support Fund Raising Game for the Bushfires, that time, I had met Shafali and we had spoken briefly. I told her that “I like the way you bat and express yourself while playing your shots. I told her to keep working hard,” he added.
“Just like any other 17-year-old, you could see enthusiasm and bubbling energy. I am very happy that she’s progressed and doing well for India.”
With PTI Inputs