Shafali Verma Hails Thailand, UAE As Women's Cricket Continues To Grow

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Having emerged from Rohtak, a small town in Haryana not known to produce international cricketers, Shafali Verma has become a trailblazer for women's cricket in the northern Indian state.

The Rohtak district does have a long history of producing elite wrestlers, including the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik.

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But cricket, especially women's cricket, struggled to gain a foothold until Verma emerged as a precocious teenager.

Now that she has established herself as one of the finest batters in the global game despite emerging from the cricketing backwaters of India, Verma understands what it feels like for cricketers to rise against the odds.

On Sunday night, after India overcame a spirited challenge from Thailand bowlers to win their opening match at the 2026 T20 Women's Asia Cup in Dubai, Verma offered a warm smile when asked about the Southeast Asian team's performance.

Despite Verma's sparkling 64 off 36 balls, India slumped to 137 for nine from 91 for one before recording a comfortable 94-run win.

Leg-spinner Suleeporn Laomi was the pick of the bowlers for Thailand with a spell of 4-0-26-3.

The 28-year-old was well supported by off-spinner Sunida Chaturongrattana, who took two wickets for 31 runs on a wicket that assisted the slow bowlers.

“I'm so happy with the way Thailand bowlers bowled, it's cricket. We practiced hard for that (to counter spinners on slow wickets), but just credit to Thailand bowlers, and I'm so happy women's cricket is growing,” Verma told reporters.

The 2026 edition of the Asia Cup features four associate nations: hosts UAE, Thailand, Hong Kong and debutants Indonesia.

While the UAE have come a long way since getting all out for nine in their first international match in 2007, Thailand and Indonesia have made considerable progress in cricket, with both countries building their national teams with local talent.

Verma said these teams would improve more with better exposure against elite teams.

“I'm so happy women's cricket is growing, and just talking about the UAE team and Thailand team, I would love to play, you know, some more cricket with them, and if they all get more games, they will grow more,” she said.

“And as a team, we are so happy the way women's cricket is growing, and the way they are improving. So just hats off to them, and just I will say to them, just keep working hard, and we all are so happy just seeing the improvement in women's cricket.”

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur also praised Thailand bowlers for their superb effort.

“We sometimes didn't play good shots, but also credit to Thailand for bowling in the areas where it wasn't easy to hit. They bowled well and we also didn't execute very well,” Kaur said.

“All the teams playing in the Asia Cup have shown a lot of improvement, so we can't take any team lightly.”

India will be back on the field for their next game against Hong Kong on September 3.

Thailand, who had won their opening game against Hong Kong by six runs, will face Pakistan on September 1.

In Group B, defending champions Sri Lanka beat hosts UAE by nine wickets on Saturday.

On Monday, Bangladesh (129 for eight) beat Indonesia (58 all out) by 71 runs in Group B.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, with the final scheduled for September 13 in Dubai.

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