India ODI captain Mithali Raj on Thursday praised a lot about 15-year-old Shafali Verma who earned her national cap on Tuesday. Mithali Raj further said the aggressive opener can be with the team for a long time with proper grooming.

“I seriously think that she (Shafali) is a talented youngster. And given the right kind of exposure and mentored properly, she can be the future player for India,” Mithali told PTI.

Shafali, however, replaced the veteran Mithali in the T20 squad, who announced her retirement from the format earlier this month. Although India won the first game in Surat, Shafali Verma got out for a duck. The ODI captain also said that she wants the team to do well in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa as well though it is not part of the ICC Championship. The ODI series will be played in Vadodara after the ongoing five-match T20 series.

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“Though we don’t have the ICC Championship points, I want the ODI side to do well (in the series against South Africa), it gives exposure to the young players in the team as well as match exposure for us before the West Indies tour,” said Mithali.

Mithali has more time to work on her fitness and she shared her fitness plans as well.

“I have more time to work as a player on my skill on my fitness. I can give more importance to exclusively train on my strength and fitness sessions, which can help me come fresh for the ODI series,” added Mithali.

“My fitness routine consists of running, strength and of course walking, because at times when we don’t have access to facilities, the simplest thing to do is to walk for 30-45 minutes, because in way it helps to decrease the stiffness or tightness that an athlete develops through strenuous days of play or after a long flight,” she concluded.