Indian Women’s cricket star player Smriti Mandhana has been recently in the news more for her personal life than the game. Days after speculation surrounding her wedding with ex-fiancé Palash Mucchal due to their severed relationship, their wedding was finally called off.
Putting an end to the problems in her personal life and clearing the air surrounding her wedding, the star batter has now moved on to the next chapter in her life as she has been named vice-captain of the Indian T20I side that will play against Sri Lanka in a series starting December 21.
This is India’s first such tournament since the Women’s World Cup final on November 2. Ahead of her match, Mandhana along with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur shared her love for the game in an interview with television presenter Mandira Bedi.
‘I don’t think I love anything in life more than cricket. And yeah, I mean, the biggest motivation is that 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.’
When asked about discontentment within the team, she answered, ‘Well, I think, firstly, I don’t look at it as issues 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.’
‘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’s wedding
After her wedding was called off, Mandhana removed the evil eye emoji from her Instagram bio. Smriti Mandhana had been in a relationship with Palash Muchhal, a music composer and film director based in Mumbai. The couple had been in the public eye for some time, and the wedding was fixed for 23 November, which was postponed after Smriti’s father suffered heart attack symptoms.