SMRITI MANDHANA MAKES CRICKET LOOK EASY

In conversation with Man's World for Hyundai Drive Within campaign, the stylish Indian batter talks about her craft, evolution, and her thoughts on women's cricket

- Ravi Raj

When Smriti Mandhana made her international debut in 2013 as a bespectacled left-handed batter, the existence of women's cricket lingered on the margins of our collective consciousness. More than a decade later, women's cricket has grown from a mere footnote to the main text in our sporting discourse, and at the forefront of this transition stands Mandhana's meteoric ascension to stardom. Her journey from obscurity to stardom mirrors the evolution of the sport as a whole too. Mandhana brought a dash of flamboyance to the Indian batting unit, a stroke-filled game that was just way ahead of the time. And now, the fate of Indian batting depends so much on her form that if she's in her rhythm, India are already the favourites to hunt down any target.