Former India all-rounder Reema Malhotra has declared Shafali Verma the best women's T20I batter in the world right now, pointing to a significant evolution in her game — from a powerplay-only aggressor to a complete opening batter who places a premium on her wicket and bats with responsibility well beyond the first six overs.

Shafali's stunning 2024 T20I form

Shafali underlined that reputation with a blistering 55 off 24 balls in India's nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the second T20I at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Sunday. She also shared a 96-run opening partnership with captain Smriti Mandhana, as India sealed the three-match series 2-0.

In women's T20Is this year, Shafali has amassed 922 runs at a staggering strike rate of 165.52, including 42 sixes. Among the top eight run-scorers in women's T20Is this year, Mandhana — with a strike rate of 150.1 — is the only other batter to cross the 150 strike-rate mark.

What Reema Malhotra said about the new Shafali

'Whenever Shafali Verma gets off to a good start with the bat, you immediately see the opposition get on the back foot. She puts that pressure on the bowlers and when she is playing a typical Shafali Verma knock, the middle order gets the freedom to bat without pressure,' said Reema in an interview to JioStar.

She highlighted the complementary dynamic between the two openers: 'Smriti, on the other hand, plays the role of the anchor because she knows that Shafali will take care of the quick scoring, which balances out the way India bat.'

On the key shift in Shafali's approach, Reema said: 'One major change that we have seen in Shafali's batting is that she is not just a powerplay batter like before. Even after the end of the first six overs, this new version of Shafali bats with responsibility. She has changed her mindset and is putting a price on her wicket. For me, that is the most important thing. And in T20I cricket, I would rate her as the number one batter right now.'

Praise for Smriti Mandhana's captaincy

Reema was equally effusive about Mandhana's leadership, lauding her instinct-driven, flexible approach. 'I am really liking the way Smriti is captaining this Indian side. She doesn't stick to one fixed template. She reads the game and makes her own decisions,' she said.

Reema cited specific tactical decisions — giving Nandni Sharma the new ball, deploying Niki Prasad in the death overs to develop the youngster under pressure, and bringing on Shafali Verma into the attack at a crucial juncture to slow the Zimbabwe batters. 'It shows that she's not scared of the pressure that comes with the Indian team's captaincy. I have always liked the way she has led RCB and she is putting all her WPL captaincy experience to good use for the Indian team,' Reema added.

Indian pacers and the road ahead

Reema praised the discipline and clarity of India's fast bowlers in the second T20I, but cautioned that the bigger challenges lie ahead. She framed the current Zimbabwe series as 'semester exams', the upcoming South Africa tour as 'pre-boards', and the Women's Champions Trophy as 'board exams' for the Indian side.

'The discipline and clarity with which the Indian pacers bowled in this second T20I was really impressive. It is not just about wickets. What matters more is the areas you bowl in, how you set traps for the batters, and whether you can execute what you set out to do,' she said.

She stressed that consistency and the ability to outfox batters with variations would be the decisive factor at the Women's Champions Trophy: 'If they don't do that, then they will be punished, especially in a tournament like the Women's Champions Trophy. Consistency is going to be the key.'