Cricket
Cricket
Smriti Mandhana answers 13 questions from fans
The Indian opening batter took to social media for a candid conversation with fans as she participated in an Ask me Anything session on Instagram.
Since making her international debut for the Indian women’s cricket team at the age of 17, she has crossed several milestones and achieved a lot personally.
She was given the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award as best women’s cricketer of 2018, and was recently nominated for the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year 2021 as well as best Women’s T20 Player of the Year.
While preparing for the next series and the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup, she took some time to chat with fans on social media by participating in an Ask Me Anything session.
Here are some of the questions that were posed to Smriti and her answers.
Smriti Mandhana
© Ali Bharmal
What is your go-to hobby for when you have a bit of time?
A hobby which I love is gaming, and I play a lot of BGMI. So that’s something which I do in my free time.
What are your fitness goals for 2022?
We have the World Cup coming up and I’d like to be as fit and fresh, mentally and physically. So that’s something that I have to manage. I have to manage my workouts and not over train or train too less. I have to be really sure of what I’m doing so that my body is at its best when I go out to play the World Cup.
What has been your most memorable match, series or tournament of 2021?
The whole Australia series was memorable for me. That’s the most memorable thing from 2021.
What is your resolution for the year 2022?
I haven’t thought of it yet. Maybe I can try to be a bit more tidy. I’m quite messy in my room. So maybe me being 10% more tidy would make my mom happy.
9 min
Cricket Challenge with Smriti Mandhana
Watch Smriti Mandhana try to beat her own score in this unique batting challenge.
If you had to go back in time and change something about 2021, what would that be?
It would definitely be the second wave that hit India. If I had the power, I’d change that so things would be better for the people in India.
What is a personal cricketing goal that you want to achieve in 2022?
Winning the World Cup is definitely the goal for this year
What is a sport you love other than cricket?
I love following football and tennis. These are two sports that I always follow. At the moment I support Manchester United, because (Cristiano) Ronaldo is back! I’m a big Ronaldo fan, so I support whichever team Ronaldo is playing for.
What do you prefer when it comes to travelling – mountains or beaches?
When I travel, I prefer being in the mountains. I don’t think I’m made for beaches.
Name one song you’ve been listening to on loop recently.
In the recent past, I’ve been listening to the song ‘Ranjha’ (from the movie Shershaah) a lot. I think in the last five months I’ve played it so many times that my friends must be really bored of listening to it.
Smriti Mandhana
© Ali Bharmal
Which home-cooked meal do you miss the most when you’re on tour?
Mummy ke haath ke aloo paratha! (Aloo parathas made by my mom). I think that’s something that I miss a lot when I’m on tour, and that’s the first thing I eat when I’m back regardless of the duration that I’ve been away from home. Be it a month, three months or even 15 days, I get home and eat mom’s aloo paratha.
What is the most challenging thing about cricket?
Most challenging thing about cricket is that you have to always start a match fresh. Even if you’ve played a match a day prior, and you’ve scored a 100. But the next day you cannot think about that 100, you have to start from 0. So that’s the most challenging thing. Sometimes you can get carried away from the confidence or feel too low because of your low scores. That’s the most challenging thing.
How do you deal with failure despite performing exceptionally well personally?
I think if you’ve done well and your team loses, that’s the most disappointing thing. Because you were trying to do well for your team, and you still couldn’t get your team over the line. That for me is something which I hate the most – when I read somewhere that my knock has gone in vain. That’s the toughest part for me. Dealing with it is just telling yourself to try to get better and try to get your team to win.
