India batter Shafali Verma has revealed the boost she received from legendary Sachin Tendulkar prior to her match-winning performance in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup final against South Africa. 

Shafali was only drafted into India’s squad last week when regular opener Pratika Rawal went down with injury and the hard-hitting 21-year-old produced a performance for the ages against South Africa as she smashed a dominant innings of 87 to help her side claim their first Women’s Cricket World Cup title.

It was a moment of redemption for Shafali, who had been on the outer in India’s ODI setup since being dropped last year and only managed to score 10 runs in her first match at the World Cup in the knockout semi-final against Australia. 

Shafali spoke after India’s triumph and suggested the boost of seeing Tendulkar on the ground prior to the match had given her the confidence she could go out there and perform well.

“When I saw him (Tendulkar), it gave me an incredible boost. I kept talking to him and he kept giving me confidence,” Shafali was quoted as saying by ICC.

“He is the master of cricket, and we keep getting inspired just looking at him,” she added. 

Shafali Verma Shines With The Ball As Well 

It wasn’t just with the bat that Shafali made a strong contribution in the final, with the youngster also claiming two key wickets with the ball after India skipper Harmnpreet Kaur decided to entrust her with some important overs during the Proteas’ run chase.  

“It was a gut feeling,” Harmanpreet said when asked about her decision to use Shafali as a bowler.

“I thought it could be risky too, but at the same time, I was positive because she had shown confidence when we spoke to her and I didn’t want to go back to the room later thinking, ‘why didn’t I try’ because they were looking good.

And when I gave her that over and she got back-to-back breakthroughs, that was the turning point for us,” she added. 

Though Shafali had spent some time out of the India team in recent times, the dashing opener admitted she never lost faith in her ability to perform on the big stage. 

“(I am) very happy that we won and I cannot express it in words. It was difficult but I had confidence in myself, that if I can stay calm, I could achieve everything,” she said.

“I just wanted to make my team win. My mind was clear, and I worked on my plans. So, (I am) happy that I could execute them and everyone was supporting me. They (senior players) asked me just to play my own game, and when you get that clarity, that is all you need so it is a very memorable moment,” she added. 

A total of 30 players have been awarded England Central Contracts for the 2025-26 season which include 14 two-year contracts, 12 one-year deals and four development contracts, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Tuesday.

The number of two-year contracts has doubled from the 2024-25 cycle, which had featured only seven. The new multi-year contract system was introduced last year.

Sonny Baker, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, and Luke Wood have been awarded central contracts for the first time.

Jacob Bethell Rewarded With Two-Year England Central Contract 

One of the most notable inclusions in the two-year central contract is of 22-year-old Jacob Bethell, who has been rewarded following his impressive performances for England over the past year. The Warwickshire all-rounder Bethell was previously on a development deal and has now been promoted after a strong run of form across formats.

Bethell made his senior debut in a T20I against Australia in September 2024 and later became England’s youngest men’s captain during the T20I series against Ireland, where he led the team to two victories.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Jofra Archer’s contract has also been upgraded from a one-year to a two-year deal following his successful return from long-term injuries. The 14 players with two-year contracts will see their contracts run till 30 September 2027, whereas the one-year contracts run till 30 September of next year.

Rob Key Speaks About Multi-Year Contracts

Rob Key, Managing Director of England’s Men’s Cricket, believed the multi-year contracts would help manage player workloads and future planning.

“This year’s central contract group reflects the depth and strength of talent we have across England Men’s cricket,” Key said.

“We have awarded two-year deals to our multi-format players, so we can manage their workloads responsibly and give them the stability they need to perform across formats.

We have also secured a number of white-ball players on longer agreements to help us plan effectively around the growing franchise calendar and ensure England remains their priority,” he added.

England Contracts List:

Two-year contracts: Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes, Josh Tongue

One-year contracts: Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker*,* Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood*,* Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Phil Salt, Mark Wood, Luke Wood

Development contracts: Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes, Mitchell Stanley