Manchester, June 24 (IANS) Asserting that she now considers herself a complete all-rounder, opener Shafali Verma said she is ready to raise her hand and deliver in any situation as India look to put their semifinal aspirations on track when they take the field for a crucial 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Group A match against Bangladesh.

Shafali had impressive figures of 1-22 in her four overs against South Africa at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, though India lost by six wickets and got their first defeat in the 12-team competition. A win over Bangladesh on Thursday will help them be in contention for entering the semi-finals.

“Yes, I would say I am an all-rounder now. In domestic cricket, playing for Haryana, I have always tried to bowl, as a captain too, and used to think about what I could do if I got a chance to bowl for the Indian team. I had prepared for it and worked hard. That is why I could execute well. As a player, I would like to put my hand up and serve the team in a given situation,” said Shafali in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

She also credited her family for encouraging her to bowl in her formative years. “My brother is a leg-spinner, and he said I too should bowl. My father now is happy and tells me it was good that I bowled in those days.”

Acknowledging that the morale of the squad took a hit after the defeat to the Proteas, Shafali stated that the team has regrouped to keep their semifinal hopes alive. "Whenever there is a bad day as a team, we know that the morale of the entire team will be down. But the next day, everyone knows that we need to come together and motivate each other.

“So yesterday, we spoke about it in the huddle - we know it's a crucial game, but we will back each other. We will give our best in preparation over the next two days. We will take it day by day. We can’t take any team lightly. They also came here to play good cricket. We will go game by game and try to play our best cricket and try to win that game,” she concluded.

--IANS

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