Smriti Mandhana, the Indian women’s team vice-captain, has been through an emotional roller coaster over the last month. After playing a critical role in India’s historic victory at the Women’s World Cup, she experienced a terrible period in her personal life. Now, the star opener is back to doing what she loves best: playing cricket.
Mandhana is part of the team that will feature in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka starting on December 21. This will be India’s first bilateral series since the Women’s World Cup final on November 2. On Wednesday, December 10, Mandhana met skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at an event and opened up about her reflections and recent experiences.
“Well, to be fair, I mean, as Harman said, the love for the game, and I don’t think I love anything in life more than cricket. So, when you go out to bat or when you go out to represent your country, I don’t think any other thoughts are there in your mind. When you put on the Indian jersey, the only thing you want to do is represent India and win the match for the country,” Mandhana said at an event in Delhi as quoted by NDTV Sports.
“And yeah, I mean, the biggest motivation is when you put on the jersey and India is written on it. I mean, I always tell everyone that once you put on the jersey, you just keep all your problems aside and just be on the field, because you have a responsibility and you are one among two billion people who are representing your country. And I mean, just the thought of that is enough for you to have that razor-sharp focus and do what you want to do.”
Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana also addressed concerns of team conflicts, stating that all players have the same ambition of winning for the country. She went on to say that constructive debates are necessary for a team’s growth and success, and they frequently play an important role in obtaining triumphs. She emphasized that such unity and openness ultimately strengthen the team’s performance overall.
“Well, I think, firstly, I don’t look at it as an issue because everyone is wanting to win the game for the country and everyone has their own opinion on how we will win the game for the country.”
Smriti Mandhana
“But genuinely, if we don’t have those discussions or arguments, we aren’t winning on the ground. Because if we do not have those sorts of discussions where we are disagreeing about something, that means we are not passionate enough to win the match for the team. So, we definitely do have those sorts of discussions.”
Smriti Mandhana
