Disguising herself as a boy to playing in the World Cup at the age of 16.

By Bahnfrend - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87696925

Shafali Verma grew up in the city of Rohtak in India. Just like millions of Indians, the sport of cricket was always an obsession for her. Her city was full of passionate cricket fans as well.

However, there was one problem. Nobody would accept a girl coming up, standing her ground, and wanting to play at a cricket academy. Being part of a reserved and conservative society, many academies simply refused to accept Shafali under their programs.

However, this didn’t stop her love for the sport. Shafali took permission from her father, cut her hair so she would look like a boy and, therefore, be allowed to play cricket.

This was the first step in what would be an unbelievable journey for this young prodigy.

By Bahnfrend - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87696928

She made her T20 international debut in September 2019 at the age of 15. She went on to become the youngest Indian to score a half-century when she smashed 73 off 49 balls later in the year. Guess who the player that held this record before her was? None other than Sachin himself.

Today, she is part of the Indian Women’s T20 World Cup squad playing in Australia. The BCCI (Indian cricket’s governing body) has also awarded her with a central annual contract.

We salute Shafali’s love for the sport and hope that many parents in India are building the next wave of Shafali’s to take over the world.