Smriti Mandhana opened up on how she started taking baby steps into the world of cricket. The youngster has been a torchbearer of Indian women’s cricket over the last seven years, having already played a number of match-winning knocks.
Mandhana, who recently played in India’s historic Test against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, said that it was his father’s dream to see one of their kids wear the national colours.
“From their childhood, my father and brothers were cricketers. My father didn’t get permission to pursue cricket as a profession. So, he wanted both of their kids to play cricket and hoped for one of them to represent India. So, I have listened about cricket from my childhood, maybe since when I was in my mother’s womb,” Mandhana was quoted as saying on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Mandhana also said she altered her batting from being a right-hander to being a left-hander after seeing her brother bat in the nets.
“I also used to go for practice, pick up balls for my brother. I learnt to bat by standing behind him in the nets. I am right-handed, but because my brother is left-handed, I learnt to bat left-handed from him. I used to stand behind him and watch him bat. So, that’s how I started my cricket journey,” she added.
Mandhana is now set to take part in the T20I and ODI series against Australia. She is also the vice-captain of the Indian women’s team.
In 6 Tests, 80 ODIs and 125 T20Is, Mandhana has racked up 480, 3179 and 2998 runs respectively, with the help of six centuries and 51 half-centuries. She is also the skipper of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL).