(Cricket news) Shafali Verma was roped in by the Sydney Sixers for her debut WBBL. For the first 4 games the big-hitter played in her usual role as an opener. After the scores of 8, 57, 0 & 0 she was pushed down the order with Ellyse Perry opening instead. Since then Shafali Verma has only managed 20, 8 & 3.

But in the last game against Adelaide strikers, Verma walked in at no. 5 when her side was struggling on 38/3 after 5 overs. She scored an unbeaten 53 off 43 balls to get her side to defendable total. She hit 6 fours and one 6 in her innings. In the end her effort wasn't enough to get Sixers the victory as Adelaide Strikers chased it down with 8 wickets in hand and 8 balls to spare thanks to Katie Mack's 67 and Tahlia McGrath's 40. 

Also read: On this day in 2019, Shafali Verma became the youngest Indian to score an international 50

The big question in the mind of Indian fans is why was Verma pushed down the order despite being successful as an opener in all formats for the past 2 years. There could be 2 reasons why captain Elysse Perry and vice captain Alyssa Healy took the decision. They might have thought that Perry would be a better opener or Verma herself would be better down the order. 

Either way it is something for Indian coach Ramesh Powar to think about. Shafali Verma is just 17 years of age and has a long career ahead of her. Which means she can easily be groomed into a middle order batsman. If she goes into India's middle order in T20Is, it would open up a spot for Jemimah Rodrigues who currently bats at 3. In the Hundred and the WBBL, Rodrigues has clearly shown that she is much more comfortable batting at the top of the order. It will be interesting to see if Verma can continue her form in the middle order or she is again pushed at the top. The Sixers' next game is on Saturday against the Brisbane Heat.