&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "WION Exclusive | From almost quitting cricket to POTM in final: WWC hero Shafali Veram relives historic triumph - WATCH")
India made history by winning their first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup, beating South Africa by 52 runs on 2 November 2025. This victory became a proud moment for Indian women’s cricket and encouraged many young girls across the country to dream bigger. One of India’s standout players in the tournament, Shafali Verma, spoke exclusively with WION about her World Cup journey, the challenges she faced, her comeback, and her winning moments.
Shafali, who played a crucial role in the final, joined the team as a replacement for Pratika Rawal, who was ruled out of the semi-final and final after getting injured in the match against Bangladesh.
In the final match against South Africa, Shafali played with great confidence and scored 87 runs off 78 balls, and took two wickets to help India win.
Her outstanding performance earned her the Player of the Match award. But her journey wasn’t easy , she was initially left out of the squad and almost quit cricket earlier this year. In an exclusive chat with WION Sports Correspondent Athira Sasidharan, Shafali opens up about her challenges, comeback, and triumph.
Shafali smiled when asked if the happiness of winning the World Cup, now one month later, is still plastered on your face? Shafali said, “I think the smile is more plastered because we are all thinking that yes, we won the World Cup. Like we all said, in the beginning we didn't know if we won the World Cup or not. But nowadays we feel that we did, we are champions."
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While remembering her World Cup journey Shafali revealed, “To be honest, at the start of 2025, when I was dropped from both the T20 and ODI teams, I even thought about quitting the sport. I always play for the team, and not being selected made me feel like quitting cricket altogether. I was at a very low point. I cried a lot and didn’t do anything for some time. But my family supported me.” Watch full interview below:
Shafali Verma’s return to India’s one-day team reached a dream moment on the biggest stage, as the 21-year-old put on a brilliant all-round performance to help India win its first 50-over World Cup title.
After spending almost a year away from the ODI squad, the young batter, who first made her name with fearless hitting, celebrated her comeback in spectacular style when the team needed her the most.
Shafali returned hometown to a hero’s welcome and said that winning the trophy mattered much more to her than missing out on a hundred, and she thanked her family for standing by her during a tough and important year.