Smriti Mandhana’s story: The small-town girl who conquered world cricket

At the age of just 19, when others would have perhaps thought of starting to pursue a new career and grow in their studies, Smriti Mandhana had already established herself as a pivot around which the Indian batting department revolves. And she earned all of this success in just three years of making her international debut, which was an incredible feat. 

Mandhana’s maturity at such a young age, which has become the hallmark of her game, shines through her skill and other prospects with the bat as she always talks about changing perceptions. She continued to be the model of concentration in the field and a prankster off it, which shows her incredible ability to switch on and off. 

Over the years, Mandhana has grown in several responsibilities of the game. Her mindset and personal space in the reflection of how much things have changed in the Indian dressing room and women’s cricket for India, over a decade after she made her international debut against Bangladesh at Vadodara in April 2013.

A week later, against the same opposition, in Ahmedabad, the left-handed batter took the field for the very first time in the 50-over format. In professionalism, the recent results and the team bonding sessions have helped her break the ice.

While the left-handed batter talks about her journey with fondness, there is a hint of disbelief at how things have panned out so quickly for her. Cricket wasn’t in the list, at least for her mother, but Mandhana’s life wasn’t quite like that of an average teenager growing up in India. It was measured on many prospects.

From Maharashtra's maidans to Mumbai's dressing room — How Smriti Mandhana's father built a batter

Mandhana, in 2016, used to carry a bat in her kit bag that was almost as big as her. She would drag it to training on every session, but she would never use it. It was the same bat that was autographed by India's former batter, Rahul Dravid, for her older brother, Shravan, an aspiring cricketer at that time, who made it as far as Maharashtra Under-19s. 

But Shravan’s academic excellence resulted in a promising cricketing career coming to a halt. In 2016, he was employed with a private bank in Sangli, a small town in Maharashtra, as the branch manager of the bank.

See Also: Watch: Smriti Mandhana's superb diving catch dismisses Ayesha Zafar — IND vs PAK Women's T20 World Cup

When Shravan used to take on the domestic scene of the Maharashtra Under-16s, her sister, Smriti Mandhana, used to tag along with her father to watch his brother play. As Shravan used to score runs in games one after another and see his name being printed in the local papers, Mandhana used to carefully cut those papers and collect those pieces.

Mandhana had the desire to lift up the bat and score runs like her brother. Her brother never denied this wish and used to lob balls at her gently whenever her brother used to go for a net session.

Mandhana, who started as a right-handed batter, had no idea of what a cover drive or square cut was. It was her father’s fascination that turned her brother and her into left-handed batters. Young Mandhana was all of nine when she was first picked in the Under-15 state side of the Maharashtra team.

“Then my father started bowling from 15 yards, and he noticed I could hit the ball well. I didn't even know what a cover drive or square cut was. I am a right-hander otherwise, but because my father had a fascination for left-hand batsmen, my brother and I played left-handed. So that is how it started,” She expressed in an interview with ESPNcricinfo in 2016.

The elegance that took over the world: How Smriti Mandhana became Women's cricket's biggest name

It was always going to be a challenge for the upcoming star player of Indian cricket, who would face up to the bowlers older than her, to convince her father that she had a future, even though he wasn’t sure of how to channelize it. The long work hours at the textile company, where he worked as a chemical distributor, would hardly give him time on weekdays.

That was when Smriti’s father put her under the watchful eyes of Anant Tambwekar, a junior state coach. At 11, Mandhana was fast-tracked to the under-19 side of Maharashtra, but an opportunity in the playing XI didn’t come about for the first two years.

See Also: Smriti Mandhana records fastest 10,000 Women's International runs

“I used to train in the morning, then go to school, and then have nets in the evening. Sometimes, if the teachers let me go early, I used to finish evening nets and then go home and watch TV. Unlike Mumbai or Pune, there's not much time spent on the road. Even at the ground, once the boys finished training, I could get someone to bowl at me for as long as I wanted.” Mandhana said in the same interaction.

At 15, the left-handed batter had a big decision to make. She wanted to study science, but her mother disconnected her because she knew that Smriti wouldn’t be able to balance her studies and cricket by then.

Science was clearly not her thing, and Mandhana perhaps realised it when she scored three centuries and a double-century- an unbeaten 224 against Gujarat Under-19s in Vadodara- in the State-19s one-day competition. She followed that up with the tall scores in the two Under-19 limited-overs tournaments, which paved the way for her inclusion in the Challenger Trophy.

Mandhana clearly towered over the rest, leading the run-charts that brought her into the national record. At the age of 15, she had most things going in her way. But the quest for more cricket kept her edgy. Under Tembwekar’s watch, she built a concrete pitch with her savings to facilitate her batting sessions.

When several senior players were rested against Bangladesh, Mandhana got her maiden call-up in 2013 in the wake of a disappointing World Cup campaign. A call-up to the World T20 meant she had to skip her Class XII board exams, while a tour of England later in 2014 meant she would have to miss a year.

The numbers behind the brilliance — Why Smriti Mandhana is women's cricket's most feared opener

A central contract guarantees financial security, but Mandhana didn’t want to look too far ahead. When she started playing, she wanted to bat like Matthew Hayden, the former Australia men’s opener. But she remodeled herself around Kumar Sangakkara’s style once her coaches told her the timing.

See Also: List of 4000 runs in WT20I history ft Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana's WODI stats-

In the ODI format, the southpaw is India’s second leading run-getter of women’s cricket with 5411 runs. She got the record in 120 innings at an average of around 48 and a strike rate of 90, thanks to 14 centuries and 35 half-centuries at the best score of 136 runs.

Smriti Mandhana's WT20I stats-

In the shortest format, Smriti sits in the second position in the WT20Is. The left-handed batter has collected 4401 runs in 161 innings at an average of 30.14 and a fine strike rate of 124.92, having bagged 34 half-centuries and one century at the best score of 112 runs, having nailed 593 boundaries and 87 sixes.

Smriti Mandhana's WTest stats-

Overall, in the Women’s Test matches, Mandhana has clubbed 635 runs in 14 innings at an average of 48.84, with two centuries and three half-centuries at the best score of 149. Most of her games in the red-ball format came against South Africa, England, and Australia. In 2026, Mandhana is the only Indian named in the TIME Magazine's list of 100 most influential sports stars of the year. 

From U19 prodigy to ICC Hall of Fame-bound — Smriti Mandhana's defining tournament moments

In the history of the Women’s ODI World Cup, Mandhana is the third leading run-getter of the tournament. She has scored 993 runs in 25 innings of the competition at an average of 43.17, with the help of three centuries and five half-centuries at the best score of 123 runs.

When the blue brigade won their maiden title in the Women’s ODI World Cup, Mandhana finished as the second-highest run-getter of the campaign. The southpaw drilled 434 runs in nine innings at an average of 54.25 and a brutal strike rate of 99.08, with the help of two fifties and one century at the best score of 109 runs.

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In the history of the Women's T20 World Cup, Mandhana is third on the list of most run-scorers for the Indian side. She has collected 592 runs in 26 innings at an average of 23.68 and a strike rate of 117.92, notching five half-centuries at the best score of 87 runs. Mandhana's T20 WC average of 23.68 sits below her career T20I mark of 30.14 — a gap she will be looking to close at the ongoing ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026.

The Indian star hasn’t yet been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, as active international cricketers are ineligible for the honor. She was awarded the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and 2021. She was also honored for her standout performances in the ODIs in 2018 and 2024.

Smriti Mandhana in WPL for RCB-

Among the other achievements, Mandhana has won two Women’s Premier League (WPL) titles as the captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) side. They won their first WPL championship in 2024 and successfully defended their title to claim their second in the 2026 season. 

Smriti Mandhana’s story as India’s star opener- FAQs