Dubbed as ‘Chhoti Shafali’, 16-year-old Deeya Yadav eyes her moment with Delhi Capitals

On November 24, 2023, Shafali Verma—an already established India international who’d just returned from Hangzhou, China with an Asian Games gold medal—had an off day at the office during the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal T20 Trophy. Representing the North Zone, the then 19-year-old from Haryana could score just the one run off her bat in Lucknow against North East Zone.

However, a day later and more than 800km away in Raipur, another youngster from the State—14-year-old Deeya Yadav—turned heads with an unbeaten marathon knock of 213 runs off just 125 balls in the Women’s Under-15 One-Day Trophy, where 35 overs constituted an innings. She went on to amass 578 runs in the tournament, the second-highest tally in the edition, averaging 96.33 and striking at 120. She even smashed an unbeaten century in the final against Delhi to help Haryana lift the trophy.

Two years after that double ton, Deeya was picked up by Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs. 10 lakh at the auction ahead of the 2026 edition of the Women’s Premier League. Now 16, Deeya was in between matches during the Women’s U-23 T20 Trophy in Thiruvananthapuram, huddled around her teammates, watching her fate unfold on a mobile screen.

“We were in the middle of our gym session. When my set came, we started watching the auction on our phones. Everyone got very excited when my name was announced, and they were happy when DC bid for me. This was my first time putting my name up for the auction and I was hoping to be a part of DC because Shafali di is also there,” Deeya told Sports stars.

From Pune to Delhi, via Haryana

The 2017 World Cup was when Deeya began to show interest in cricket. Moreover, she would watch her father, Rakesh, who used to play district-level cricket back in the day, play in corporate matches. “I asked him to teach me and for a year, he used to bowl to me inside our house. After my interest began to increase, he put me in an academy, and slowly I chose cricket as my career,” Deeya said. Rakesh also recalled an incident when the boys in their neighbourhood had denied his daughter the chance to play with them, which only piqued her passion for the sport.

Deeya slowly built her basics under coach Harshad Patil at the Aryans Cricket Academy in Pune. Interestingly, she was the academy’s first female student. “We were a bit unsure at first whether to take her in since we didn’t have a girls team. But we took that first step and let her practise with boys, and they were ready to do that,” Patil said. For about three years, Deeya’s natural attacking game was sharpened before the Yadav family had to move to Haryana in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

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In her home State, Deeya was then enrolled in the Shri Ram Narain Cricket Academy, which is under the Haryana Cricket Association. Her time here, according to Rakesh, has been instrumental to Deeya’s development as a player. She first broke through to the senior State team in the 2023-24 season, while also playing in age-group cricket.

This domestic season has certainly been a breakthrough campaign for her. Deeya maintained consistency across tournaments, racking up 298 runs in eight innings at the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, 151 runs in five innings at the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal T20 Trophy, and 255 runs in nine innings at the U-23 tournament. Video clips floating on the internet showcase Deeya’s unadulterated power, perhaps a reason why she’s touted as a younger Shafali by those who know her well.

Smacking it like Shafali

Deeya first got to know about Shafali about a year or two after she’d started playing, around the time the latter was handed her India debut at the age of 15. “That’s when my father told me about this girl named Shafali Verma from Haryana who plays attacking cricket. I saw her batting and since then, I’ve been idolising her.”

Both have played together in the senior Haryana team as recently as in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, and now they will also be sharing the same dressing room in the WPL. “When we are batting in the middle, it’s all very chill. We back each other in pressure situations and she keeps telling me that I can hit the balls. Her being there also takes some load off of me,” Deeya said.

While the teen says her attacking intent comes naturally, she also credits Shafali for inspiring her and teaching her a lot. Moreover, natural build and a strict routine has played a significant role in making sure Deeya can clear the ropes with ease.

“ This is true that the people of Haryana are getting a little tagged. (It is true that people from Haryana are naturally strong). Moreover, fitness is something that’s very important at HCA. Much of the power comes from that too. Diet also plays a key role, and as a vegetarian, it becomes difficult to get protein. But if you focus on that then the power will automatically get generated. So I’ve worked on my diet for the past year or so, which has borne results,” Deeya explained.

Interestingly, Deeya had attended trials for Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and UP Warriorz, but had just sent her videos to DC. However, the Capitals knew what the youngster could bring to the table.

“We’ve been tracking Deeya for a couple of years now. The first I remember seeing her was in an U-19 tournament. What struck me about her was her very tall presence, her being strong off the front foot, and how she handled pace really well,” Ananya Upendran, a scout for the Delhi Capitals, revealed.

“In terms of her playing self, I think the easiest way to describe her is chhoti Shafali. And I say this for no other reason than the fact that she comes out all guns blazing. She’s happy to go over the top. She scores heavily in boundaries. But I think the difference between her and Shafali is when Shafali burst onto the scene, she was very leg-side dominant. I think Deeya feeds off width, and she’s very fluent through the off-side, which is the major difference between the two,” she added.

In a side packed with proven top-order batters like Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Shafali, Deeya is happy to bat anywhere if given a chance. “I just want to prove myself. I’ll play in the WPL just the way I play domestic cricket. I’ll try not to get nervous and absorb as much experience from the seniors as I can. I’m excited to play with them,” Deeya, who’s also targeting donning the Indian jersey at next year’s U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, said.

Published on Jan 20, 2026