Indian opener Shafali Verma wrote her name into the record books on Tuesday, September 22 by becoming the highest run-scorer in Women’s Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is) in a single calendar year.
Shafali, the explosive right-hander surpassed South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt during India’s Asian Games 2026 gold-medal clash against Sri Lanka at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan.
Shafali has made her mark with crucial performances on the biggest stages. Needing just 10 runs before the final match to claim the top spot, Shafali reached the milestone within the first two overs of the match, crossing Wolvaardt’s previous world record of 824 runs on the seventh ball of her innings. Since her match-winning 87 in the 2025 ODI World Cup final, she has been in outstanding form in tournament knockouts. With months still left on the calendar, Shafali Verma has firmly cemented 2026 as one of the most dominant individual years the women’s game has ever witnessed.
