MUMBAI: Beverage major PepsiCo has roped in 16-year old Indian cricketer Shafali Verma as one of its brand ambassadors for one year, the Economic Times reported quoting sources.
Pepsi will be Shafali’s first contract with a major brand. The beverage firm recently signed Bollywood star Salman Khan as its face on a two-year deal.
Shafali is hailed as one of the promising talents to watch out for in women’s cricket. The explosive top-order batswoman is currently playing the ICC Women’s T20I World Cup, where India will take on Australia in the final in Melbourne on March 8.
Shafali Verma entered the history books as she became the youngest woman cricketer to play for India when she debuted against South Africa. The teenager recently claimed the top spot in International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I rankings, becoming the youngest Indian to top any ICC list.
In recent times, many Indian women cricketers have been gaining ground in the brand world, thanks to the team’s consistent and commendable on-field performance. Some of the top players in the women’s team — Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur — have recently landed several brands in their endorsement kitty.
Mandhana has five endorsements under her belt: Hero MotoCorp (bat sponsorship), Bata’s sportswear brand Power and Amstrad India, among others. Harmanpreet Kaur has been signed up for a CEAT endorsement.
Hailing from Haryana, Shafali had dreamt of playing for India when she was nine years old. The story goes that, supported by her father, she got trained at a boys’ cricket academy, as there were no academies for girls near her home. She disguised herself as a boy to train. She admitted that it was tough facing male bowlers at a young age, but the sheer passion to play for the country prepared her for future challenges.
