edited by: Aditya Maheshwari
Last Update: January 13, 2023, 5:22 pm IST
Smriti Mandhana has been in scintillating form across formats. (AFP photo)
Jhulan recalled an incident in 2014 during a series between India and Sri Lanka when the veteran fast bowler was sharing a room with young Mandhana.
Smriti Mandhana spoke about her sheer love for batting in the form of her former teammate and great bowler Jhulan Goswami, while also recalling an anecdote about the young southpaw during her early days in international cricket. Mandhana made her international debut India Against Bangladesh in 2013 and became a mainstay across all formats and has been one of the promising batsmen in recent times. She is the only Indian cricketer to win the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award twice and was also nominated for the third time in 2022.
During an interview with Forbes, Jhulan recalled an incident in 2014 during a series between India and Sri Lanka when the veteran fast bowler was sharing a room with young Mandhana.
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“It came from memory [Mandhana], with whom I was sharing the room,” says Goswami. “She was awake and shadow-batting across the room.”
Jhulan said she is very impressed with Mandhana’s dedication on the off day
“In fact, I was really impressed to see a young girl following the routine without being disturbed by seniors even on a holiday, it shows how sincere and committed Smriti was towards her craft even in her early days “
While young Mandhana also reacted to her former teammate’s comments and said that the legendary fast bowler is ruining her image as she wants to create a cool image of herself.
“Jhulu-di is tarnishing my image. Here I am trying to create a chill image of a happy cricketer and there she is spewing everything.
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However, the southpaw also talked about his live for the bat.
“But yes,” she laughs, “ballebaazi toh pyaar hai (batting is sheer love). I can even get up at 2 am and start batting.”
Mandhana’s most exciting innings of 2022 came in the second T20 of the bilateral series against Australia in December.
In front of over 47,000 spectators – the highest turnout for a women’s cricket match in India – at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, Mandhana scored a 49-ball 79 as Australia chased down 187/1.
She was India’s top scorer in the match, taking the match to the very end as India leveled the score at 187/5 to set up a Super Over clash.
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