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ODI World Cup: For Shafali Verma, the Player of the Match in India beating South Africa by 52 runs in the final to lift the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup trophy, one of the most cherished moments in the aftermath of the epochal triumph has been seeing sheer joy on her father Sanjeev’s face.

“My father was very happy. Before coming back to Rohtak, I had met my father -- so he was very, very happy. My father is someone who doesn’t express his emotions very quickly, but I could see happiness on his face.”

“When I spoke to him on the phone for the first time after winning the World Cup, he said, ‘Haan bhai, champion!’ I felt extremely good to hear that,” said Shafali in an exclusive conversation with IANS, facilitated by JSW Sports, on Saturday.