Rookie batter Shafali Verma, all of 15, yesterday became one of the youngest to be picked in the Indian women's cricket team, her arrival coinciding with the departure of the long-serving Mithali Raj from the T20 scene.

Verma, whose ability with the bat has impressed many, has been selected in the Indian team for the first three games of the upcoming five-match T20I series v South Africa. A little over five feet tall, Shafali was chosen following her good performances in the Women's T20 challenge earlier and at the age-group level this year.