From Last-Minute Call to World Cup Hero: How Shafali Verma Proved ‘God’s Plan’ Right in the Final

Just a week ago, Shafali Verma wasn’t even part of India’s Women’s World Cup squad. But destiny had something extraordinary planned for her — a plan she herself calls “God’s Plan.”

When opener Pratika Rawal suffered an injury just before the semifinal, Shafali was called up as a replacement. What followed was nothing short of a fairytale. In the final, she scored a brilliant half-century, took two crucial wickets, and was named Player of the Match — turning India’s dream of a World Cup title into reality.

Interestingly, Shafali received her selection call on the morning of October 27, just a day after Pratika’s injury on October 26. At that time, she was playing in the Senior Women’s T20 Tournament in Surat and had barely two days to prepare before joining the team. She participated in just two short practice sessions — one hour each at the DY Patil Stadium and the University Ground — before the semifinals.

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Shafali Verma is an all in one package that India looking for decades

• destructive mindset like Sehwag

• Clutch player in knockouts like Yuvraj

• Never Play for stats and milestones

The Greatest Indian women cricketer I've seen in my life pic.twitter.com/J785YNf3O4

— Aditya Soni (@imAdsoni) November 2, 2025 >

Earlier in August, when India’s World Cup squad was announced, former chief selector Neetu David had assured the media that the doors weren’t closed for the 21-year-old star. However, with Pratika’s impressive form, Shafali’s comeback seemed uncertain — until fate intervened.

Before the semifinal against Australia, Shafali had said, “What happened to Pratika was unfortunate. No one wants to see a player get injured, but maybe God has sent me for something good.”

Though she managed only 10 runs off 5 balls in the semifinal, she saved her best for the final — smashing 87 runs to help India post a massive total of 298/7.

Even more surprising was her contribution with the ball. Despite having bowled in just five of her 30 ODIs before, captain Harmanpreet Kaur trusted her during a crucial phase when South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus were building a solid 52-run partnership.

Harmanpreet later revealed, “When Shafali joined the team, we were missing the overs from Pratika. So, when Shafali came in, we saw that she was bowling a lot of overs in domestic cricket. Sir and I spoke to her about it, and she said, 'I'm ready for (even) 10 overs'. That shows how confident she was to bowl. When that partnership started (between Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus, who added 52 runs for the fourth wicket) in the middle, suddenly I got the thought that I should give Shafali a try to see what happens. It was a gut feeling."

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Whether Shafali keeps her spot once Pratika returns remains to be seen. But one thing is certain — her name is now etched in Indian cricket history. Before this, she had already led the Under-19 Women’s Team to their first-ever World Cup victory, and now she’s a part of India’s senior World Cup glory — all in line with what she calls “God’s Plan.”