Mandhana willing to step up in captaincy role for India

After India’s group stage exit at the recent ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales, seasoned batting star Smriti Mandhana has conceded that she is willing to step up in a bigger role.

Speaking to The Times of India, Mandhana said, “Yes, of course. I am ready.”

Delving into an early exit from the recent marquee tournament, Mandhana added, “It’s important to introspect and learn from mistakes. Unfortunately, we haven’t learnt enough from our past errors and have continued to repeat them.

“Going forward, there needs to be a clear roadmap until the 2028 T20 World Cup on how we want to approach the format and what we need to do as a team.”

India Women have been on tour of England since late May. The tour concluded with a historic first-ever Women’s Test at Lord’s. A game that saw the visitors clinch a mammoth 270 run win.

“It was amazing to be part of the first-ever women’s Test at Lord’s and, more importantly, to win it.

“Contributing to a historic victory for India was special. As kids, we all dreamt of playing Test cricket, so to do it at Lord’s made it even more memorable,” Mandhana said.

While Mandhana scored successive half-centuries in both innings, another key performer for India was Yastika Bhatia, who became the first player to score a century in a Women’s Test at Lord’s.

Bhatia, who had picked up an ACL injury in the lead up to last year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, made her comeback into the team ahead of this summer’s T20 World Cup.

The left-handed batter credited Mandhana to help keep her spirits up during a difficult phase.

“Any knee injury is extremely difficult for a player. In Yastika’s case, it happened before a home World Cup, which made it even tougher,” Mandhana shared.

“I told her how my own ACL injury in 2017 helped me grow both as a person and an athlete. Some of my best cricket came after that setback. I felt she would connect with that and stay motivated through the rehabilitation process.”

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