3 reasons why India must pick Shafali Verma in playing XI for 2025 Women's World Cup semifinal clash vs Australia

India Women were dealt a massive blow with the injury to Pratika Rawal ahead of the daunting semifinal of the ongoing 2025 World Cup against Australia. The all-important contest will be played in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, October 30.

Exciting 21-year-old Shafali Verma has replaced Pratika in the Indian 15-member squad for the rest of the tournament. The right-hander was a surprising omission in most people's eyes when the Indian side for the mega event was announced.

However, Pratika's incredible performances in the league stage of the World Cup have meant Shafali wasn't as big a miss as initially felt. Yet, the Women in Blue struggled as a team, winning only three out of their seven matches and barely eking into the final four.

While the absence of Pratika, who has scored 308 runs at an average of over 51, could have Indian fans nervous ahead of their crucial semifinal, Shafali's inclusion in the XI could prove to be a jackpot, especially against the ever-dominant Aussies.

On that note, here are three key reasons why India must pick Shafali Verma immediately in the playing XI for the 2025 World Cup semifinal against Australia.

#1 X-factor over consistency must be the way to go against Australia

As valuable as consistency may seem on paper, a massive underdog side like India in their semifinal against Australia has to roll the dice with X-factor options. And when it comes to an X-factor in batting, it is hard to look past Shafali Verma, who boasts an incredible strike rate of almost 75 even in Test cricket.

The strike rates are equally impressive in ODIs at over 83 in 29 matches. India has often posted seemingly solid totals in ODI games against Australia, only to watch their rivals chase them down comfortably with their never-ending batting lineup.

As incredible as Pratika Rawal's overall numbers look, her strike rate of under 77 in the tournament has meant India has got off to steady but not spectacular starts. A case in point was India's meeting with Australia in the league stage, when the right-handed opener scored 75 at a strike rate of 78.12.

The hosts finished with an impressive total of 330, but it felt all too familiar when the Aussies chased it down in 49 overs. Thus, against this particular opponent, India must open with the hit-and-miss batting style of Shafali and hope the youngster pulls off a quickfire 40 or 50 to leave the Aussies on the back foot in the powerplay.

This formula could help India cash those extra few runs in their final total, which has seemingly evaded them in recent ODIs against Australia.

#2 White-ball form and fond memories against Australia at the venue

Shafali Verma may not have played for India in an ODI in a year, but her recent white-ball form has been better than ever. The 21-year-old enjoyed a sensational WPL 2025 season, scoring over 300 runs for the Delhi Capitals at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 152.76 in nine games.

More recently, in her last appearance for India in the five-match T20I series in England, Shafali finished as the second leading run-scorer with 176 runs at an average of over 35 and a strike rate of 158.55.

The swashbuckling opener continued the brilliant form for India-A, scoring a 49-ball 70 against New Zealand in the warm-up game for the ongoing World Cup. Shafali also scored back-to-back half-centuries against Australia-A in a 50-over contest and a red-ball outing in August.

Furthermore, the youngster also has fond memories of facing Australia in Navi Mumbai, dating back to her spectacular 44-ball 64* in the home series opener at the venue in January last year.

She also scored a 17-ball 26 in the series decider against the same opponent at the very venue.

#3 Best of the rest in multiple ways

Shafali Verma is undeniably the best fit at the top as the in-form Smriti Mandhana's opening partner for the upcoming semifinal clash against Australia for more reasons than one. The duo has forged a highly successful partnership in T20Is with over 2,700 runs.

Shafali and Mandhana broke the record for the most runs as a partnership in T20Is in India's most recent tour of England in July. With the power play being arguably the most crucial phase in a crunch match like the semifinal against Australia, familiarity at the top could be pivotal.

Shafali is also undoubtedly the best bet as Mandhana's opening partner, considering all the possible options.

Given the impressive batting display in their last completed innings against New Zealand, India will be better served not changing the order. Jemimah Rodrigues was back to her best at No. 3 with a 55-ball 76* and India would not want to move her to the opening spot despite her prior experience at the position.

While Amanjot Kaur opened in India's final league stage outing against Bangladesh, she had never batted at the position in ODIs before, with her previous 13 innings coming at No. 7 and 8.

Harleen Deol has never opened the batting in her 37 ODIs, and 23-year-old Uma Chetry, with only one ODI appearance under her belt, opening in such a high-pressure outing could be troublesome.

Thus, Shafali Verma is undeniably the best of India's remaining options at the top, apart from boasting a successful partnership with Mandhana.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran