Why Shafali Verma is Not Opening Today in IND-W vs ZIM-W 1st T20I? Explained

India Women started their innings during the first ODI match against Zimbabwe with a bang. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal took the attack to the opposition and hardly looked in any trouble during the IND-W vs ZIM-W 1st ODI.

However, the fans were more concerned about Shafali Verma's absence at the top. The star India opener didn't come out to bat with the captain Smriti Mandhana, which raised a few eyebrows.

Why Shafali Verma is Not Opening Today in 1st ODI?

There is no particular reason behind Shafali Verma batting position change during the 1st ODI against Zimbabwe at Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara. It is likely to be a tactical combination at the moment. With three openers in the squad, the Indian team management is trying out different combinations at the moment.

Since India are already big favorites to win the match, they are ready to experiment with their batting order. All the three players - Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, and Shafali Verma - are amongst the best women cricketers and dropping any of them from the playing 11 won't be straight-forward.

Shafali has been preferred as the opener throughout her career and has done quite well at that position. This is probably the first time in her international career that she is batting down the order.

Shafali Verma's Form With the Bat

Shafali Verma was in terrific form with the bat during the T20I series against Zimbabwe recently. While opening the batting, she emerged as the highest run-getter of the series with 128 runs from three matches at an average of 42.66 and a strike rate of 200.

Shafali has been in excellent form over the last few months, particularly from the time she made her comeback into the Indian ODI team during the World Cup 2025. The right-hander came into India's squad as the replacement of Pratika Rawal, who suffered an unfortunate injury to be ruled out of the tournament.

Shafali Verma made an instant impact even if she played the semi-final straight away. In the final, she played a match-winning knock and became the Player of the Match, eventually helping India lift the trophy.