Shafali Verma announces herself as Delhi Capitals skipper, deletes it immediately

India's swashbuckling opening batter Shafali Verma is likely to lead the Delhi Capitals in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL). However, the youngster deleted an Instagram story declaring herself as the captain of the side moments after posting it.

The 19-year-old was one of the most expensive Indian players at the auction held on February 13 in Mumbai. The teen prodigy attracted a bid of INR 2.00 crore, with the Capitals winning the bidding war against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Other players bought by the Capitals are Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning, Alice Capsey, Shikha Pandey, Jess Jonassen, Laura Harris, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatia, Titas Sadhu, Jaisa Akhtar, Aparna Mondal, and Tara Morris.

Australia captain Lanning could be another leadership option for the Delhi outfit.

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Shafali Verma was an integral member of the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup-winning team

Shafali Verma. (Image Credits: Getty)

Shafali Verma played an integral role in India's U-19 Women's T20 World Cup-winning squad. She was the third-highest run-getter of the tournament with 172 runs in seven games at 24.57, striking at 193.25 and the second-highest for India behind Shweta Sehrawat, who clobbered 297 runs at 99.

While the right-hander managed only 15 runs in the final against England, India won by seven wickets after bowling the opposition out for 68. Following the triumph, Verma stated, as quoted by WION news:

"The way all the girls are performing and backing each other, so happy. Incredible feeling. Thanks to the staff, the way they have been backing us every day and telling us that we are here for the cup and, because of them, we are here. All thanks to them."

"The players have been backing me a lot. Thanks to BCCI for giving me this beautiful team and I'm really happy about winning the cup. I will look to take this winning confidence with me and win the senior World Cup. I will try and forget this and get involved with the senior setup and gel with the team and win the World Cup."

The Capitals will open their campaign against the Royal Challengers on March 7 in Mumbai.