India’s stylish left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana wants to be a match-winner as India captain Virat Kohli is. While it is known how Kohli has evolved over the years, it is not unknown that Mandhana is considered as one of the vital cogs of the Indian team.
In a recent chat with Indian Express, she has shared how she aspires to be as consistent as Virat Kohli is and prefers to be named as Smriti Mandhana instead of being called as Virat Kohli of Indian Women’s Cricket.
Smriti Mandhana said, “I am happy being Smriti Mandhana of women’s team but the kind of batting he does and the way he wins matches for India, It’s very inspirational. I would try and take the way he finishes the games. I would love doing that for India. It’s unrealistic to have the kind of consistency he has.”
Smriti Mandhana, being 24, has already achieved many feats ever since her debut six years ago. She is the first player to have scored the centuries in SENA countries as well. She also revealed how she started playing left-handed.
She said, “As a kid, I used to go and play with my brother (Shravan Mandhana). I used to copy him and bat with him. That’s how it all began. I chose cricket as my career when I was 15 or 16 when I scored a century for Maharashtra. More than my dream it was my family’s dream that I play for India and they always supported me.”
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As the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the entire world into a standstill, it has postponed all the cricketing activities as well. Amid this situation, every sportsperson had to spend time at home which they are not used to. However, for Smriti Mandhana, it was a bit unusual at first but later she adjusted as well.
She added, “This is the first time in several years that I happened to stay at home for that long. The first month was a bit tough since I didn’t have the habit of staying at home. But gradually adjusted by working out at home with the equipment available. In the last one month I have started batting. It was tough but also special that I got to spend time with my family. Playing cards trying to be around them.”
She further added, “I am not too much into Netflix and Amazon because spending quality time with family is more valuable. Just being around them and trying to read some books. I also cook on some odd days and I’m cycling too. However, following the news has been pretty painful. So many heartbreaking stories. Once I read them it takes me 15 minutes to absorb it and I can’t read anything further.”
Notably, the international cricket has returned with the England-West Indies men’s Test series recently. Moreover, the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin from September 19 in the UAE as well. With this, the Women’s T20 Challenge will also take place in the first week of November. However, Smriti Mandhana said that she is excited and looking forward to travelling to UAE for the Women’s IPL.
