Woman cricketer Shafali Verma in new Star Sports campaign

Mumbai : Star Sports has launched #TakeOnTheWorld campaign featuring woman cricketer Shafali Verma, ahead of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup set to begin on February 21.

#TakeOnTheWorld uses glimpses of sixteen-year-old Shafali's childhood to bring alive her single-minded focus and passion to play the game she loved.

Shafali knew very early in her life that she wanted to play for India and did everything in her capacity to train hard and make the most of the opportunities that came by.

"My father has been a strong pillar of support, he is a great player and he trained and coached me too -- I am what I am because of my father," said Shafali.

"My dream was to open for India and make my father proud; that's a dream we both had together. I am extremely excited to represent India at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, which is led by Harmanpreet Kaur who, I believe, is a strong and aggressive player and keeps the team motivated.

"I believe that in any T20 match the openers play a very crucial role -- if they give a good start, the team can build on a total that is challenging enough for the opponent."

The campaign clip captures one such moment in her life when she seized a chance to play for a local team with a bunch of boys, standing in for her sick brother.

Fuelled by sheer grit and determination, Shafali took on the challenge and trained with the boys in her local club.

Her father and coaches from that time groomed her to become the confident cricketer she is today. No mean feat for then 10-year-old girl from Rohtak, Haryana.

Shafali's journey wasn't easy, but when she rose up the women cricketers' ranks it was well worth it.

At 15, she went on to break her cricketing idol Sachin Tendulkar's 30-year-old record by becoming the youngest Indian to ever score a half century in international cricket.