India star Smriti Mandhana made her first public appearance today after confirming on Sunday that her wedding with music composer Palash Muchhal was called off. She attended the Amazon Sambhav Summit on Wednesday, where she opened up about her love for cricket. She also reflected on her journey of 12 years at the international level after making her debut back in 2013.
“I don’t think I love anything more than cricket. Wearing that Indian jersey is the motivation that drives us. You keep all your problems aside, and that thought alone helps you focus on life. As a kid, the madness for batting was always there. No one understood it, but in my mind, I always wanted to be called a world champion,” she said at the event.
Smriti Mandhana recalls the World Cup win in November
November 2 turned out to be the historic day in Indian’s Women’s cricket as they won the ODI World Cup for the first time, beating South Africa in the final. The Indian vice-captain recalled the memories of winning the trophy and reiterated how desperate she and the team was to lift the trophy after faltering on multiple occasions in different formats.
“We were waiting for it so badly. I’ve been playing for more than 12 years — many times things didn’t go our way. We visualised it before the final, and when we finally saw it on the screen, it gave us goosebumps. It was an incredible, special moment,” she added.
Smriti Mandhana also had some special words for veterans Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami who deserved but had to retire without a World Cup to their name. “This World Cup was the reward for the battle we fought over the years.
“We really wanted to do it for them, badly. Seeing tears in their eyes made it feel like women’s cricket itself was winning. It was a battle won for all of them,” Mandhana further said.
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