The inaugural ICC Women's Champions Trophy is scheduled to take place in India from 14 to 28 February 2027. The six-team T20I tournament will feature matches split between the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium.
India vice-captain Shafali Verma on Thursday (October 15) emphasized that the primary goal heading into the marquee competition is balancing "fearless cricket with smartness."
India’s immediate preparation involves a historic, first-ever bilateral home series against Zimbabwe, comprising three T20Is in Raipur and three ODIs in Vadodara. The T20I leg will be used specifically to fine-tune tactical awareness and build momentum ahead of the ICC event early next year.
“We have spoken about it, that in this series we have to play a fearless brand of cricket with smartness leading up to the Champions Trophy. We have had a lot of meetings, so everyone knows what to do. We are just trying to keep improving series by series,” Shafali told reporters on the eve of the first T20I against Zimbabwe.
The India team is moving forward under a fresh management structure following the resignation of longtime skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. Smriti Mandhana has taken over as the full-time, all-format captain, with Shafali serving as her deputy in T20Is and Deepti Sharma as vice-captain in ODIs.
“Harman provided a lot of growth to women's cricket and the way it has evolved is because of her,” Shafali said about the former captain.
Shafali is coming off a dominant run where she top-scored for India in their Women's Asia Cup title win and scored her maiden white-ball international century (a 49-ball ton) during the Asian Games 2026 gold-medal campaign, earning the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for September 2026.
“I analysed myself when I was out of the team. I needed to work on consistency, fitness and mental growth. I worked hard on these things and now everything is coming together,” Shafali stated.
“In 2025, I worked on every skill, from playing short balls and back-foot punches against spinners to pull shots as well. I can see a good reflection of that now.
“I have been bowling for Haryana since 2021, so it is not new to me. I used to think that if I had to bowl for India one day, how I should prepare myself for it, and mentally I have always been ready,” she added.
The opening batter claimed the team did not feel Jemimah Rodrigues' absence too much during their Asia Cup and Asian Games triumphs, and added that new players would continue to be tried in the middle-order.
“Jemi is recovering, but during the Asia Cup and the Asian Games, we did not feel her absence much. The way Richa (Ghosh) and Harman played, and now Niki (Prasad) has come in, hopefully she will do well and we will keep trying players,” Shafali remarked.
(With PTI Inputs)
