India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has opened up about her deep love for cricket and the excitement of returning to the field. Mandhana played a vital role in helping India lift the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup for the first time, and now she is set to be back in action in the upcoming five-match homeT20I series against Sri Lanka starting December 21.
Speaking at an event alongside India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Mandhana shared her love for cricket. “Well, to be fair, I mean, as Harman said, the love for the game, and I don’tthink 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 the 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,” she said.
She also said wearing the India jersey brings motivation to her. Mandhana explained, “And yeah, I mean, the biggest motivation is that when you put on the jersey and India is written on it… I mean, just the thought of that is enough for you to have that razor-sharp focus and do what you want to do.”
Mandhana added that healthy discussions within the team are a sign of passion. “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.”
Mandhana was the second-highest run-scorer in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. She scored 434 runs at an average of 54.25.
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