‘Shafali Verma needs to work on her back foot to put Australia on backfoot’

Young India opener Shafali Verma is a superb front-foot participant however she must work on her back-foot to place strain on the Australians, former India cricketer Nooshin-Al-Khadeer mentioned on Wednesday.
Shafali might rating solely 8 runs within the first ODI, which the guests misplaced by 9 wickets towards Australia on Tuesday.
“I think in the first ODI, we have seen that they (Australians) were bowling too short on her (Shafali) body. She needs to be adapt and get her back-foot shots quite well, because the Aussies have read her, she is a fabulous front-foot player and she can be destructive,” Khadeer mentioned.
“But if Shafali can get on to her back-foot, I am sure that it is going to take Australia on a backfoot… she needs to be working on her back-foot now.”
Khadeer, a former right-handed batter and off-spinner, additionally backed ODI skipper Mithali Raj, who has typically been criticised for her gradual strike charge.
“I think it is very easy for us to sit back and judge that strike-rate is an issue, but as cricketers, do we realise what situation she has walked into bat,” Khadeer mentioned at a digital con-call when requested in regards to the criticism of skipper Mithali Raj’s strike charge.
“I would want to put forward a question saying that is it okay for a batter to score 10 runs in 8 balls or a batter who is able to score 60-70 runs, okay in 100 balls she has taken and contribute those 60 runs, there is a difference in that.”
Raj, the world no 1 ODI batsman, had recorded her fifth consecutive fifty within the first ODI towards Australia. She has additionally accomplished 20,000 profession runs however but she is commonly criticized for her gradual strike charge.
“I understand strike rate is important, but we need to understand the situation of a batter waking in. Whether the situation is right to get a strike rate of 100-120 and what happens,” mentioned Khadeer, who additionally performed 78 ODIs, 5 Tests and a couple of T20s.
The 40-year-old additionally identified the dearth of contribution of the middle-order.
“Over a period of time, if we go through the statistics, we have seen our middle-order has not been contributing,” she mentioned.
“So if we’re going with a strike charge of 100 and we miss out on her innings, then there will probably be criticism that, she just isn’t knowledgeable, not contributing, so the place is the contribution of the center order, we have to have folks contributing.
“Otherwise, we will see India not even crossing 200 runs,” she quipped.
India will play two extra ODIs, one day-night Test, and three T20Is through the sequence.
The second ODI of India’s Women’s tour of Australia will probably be aired on ‘Sony Six’ channels on September 24 from 10.40 AM IST and the third ODI will probably be aired on September 26 from 5.35 PM IST.