Know your Cricketer – Smriti Mandhana; The best Women’s International Cricketer Award Winner

Smriti Shriniwas Mandhana was born on 18th July 1996 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She was born to Smita and Shrinivas Mandhana in a Marwari family. She has one elder brother Shravan Mandhana.

Her family was moved to Sangli, Maharashtra from Mumbai when she was 2 years old. She completed her schooling from there only. Her family was a cricket loving family from always as her father and brother played cricket at district level. By watching her brother playing for Maharashtra state U-16s Tournaments, she was also got inspired and at the age on just 9 years she was selected in Maharashtra’s U-15s Team followed by U-19s at the age of 11.



Smriti’s Domestic Career
Smriti plays for Maharashtra in Domestic Cricket. She came into limelight in October 2013 when she scored double-hundred in a one-day game. She became the first Indian Women to do so. It was West Zone U-19s tournament when she was playing for Maharashtra against Gujarat and scored 224 runs in 150 balls at Alembic Cricket Ground, Vadodara



In 2016, Smriti scored three half-centuries for India Red while playing for Women’s Challengers Trophy. 
In the final match against India blue she scored unbeaten 62 runs in 82 balls and helped her Team to win the Trophy. She scored a total of 192 runs in the whole Tournament and became Tournament’s top-scorer.

After this tournament in September month of the same year, She was signed up for one-year deal with Brisbane Heat for the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL). She was the among the two Indian Women along with Harmanpreet Kaur to signed up for the league. While playing against Melbourne Renegades in January 2017, she fell down badly during her fielding resulted injury in her knee, she was out of the tournament for the complete year. 

In June 2018, Smriti signed Kia Super League, she was the first Indian to play this league. In November 2018, she made her name in the list of Hobart Hurricanes squad for the 2018-19 Women’s big bash league season. In 2021, she was drafted by Southern Brave for The Hundred season and played 7 matches for them scoring 167 runs then she left for India’s Tour of Australia.

In September 2021, she made her name in the list of Sydney Thunder’s squad for the 2021-22 Women's Big Bash League season, she scored 100 runs in the season. Later in February 2022, she was retained by the Southern Brave for the 2022 edition of the The Hundred. 

In February 2023, in the inaugural of WPL auction, she was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for ₹3.4 Cr. It was the highest bid for a player in that auction. 

Smriti’s International Career
In the year 2014 August month, Smriti made her Test Debut. She scored 22 & 51 runs in first and second innings respectively while playing against England at Wormsley Park. In the later innings, chasing 182 runs to win, she played in good partnership of 76 runs with Thirush Kamini which led to win the match by Team India.

In 2016, during the Australia Tour of Indian Team, in the second ODI game Smriti scored 102 runs off 109 balls at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. She was the only Indian player to be named in the ICC Women’s Team of the year 2016.

She got a knee injury in January 2017 during WBBL league, after recovering from the injury she came into the Team for 2017 World Cup. She scored 90 runs against England in her first group of matches played in the World Cup in Derby. Team won the match by 35 runs and she was named the player of the match. In one day international against West Indies, she scored her second hundred.



In the final match of Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2017, team lost to England by 9 runs.

In March 2018, she scored fifty for Team India in 30 balls in Women's Twenty20 International played against Australia. In June 2018, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) awarded her 'The Best Women's International Cricketer' in BCCI awards. In August 2018, she scored her first century in Women’s Cricket Super League. In October 2018, she made her name in the list of Women’s World Twenty20 Tournament in West Indies. During the Tournament she became the third Cricketer to score 1000 runs in WT20I matches. In December 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) awarded her with the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the best female cricketer of the year.

In February 2019, she became the youngest Captain of India’s Women T20I for 3 matches against England. She scored the fastest-fifty in just 24 balls against the New Zealand in Women’s T20Is. 



In May 2019, won the International Woman Cricketer of the Year awards at CEAT International Cricket Awards 2019. In November 2019, she scored 2000 runs in WODIs and became the third fastest-cricketer to achieve this target. 

In January 2020, she made her name in the list of India's squad for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia. In May 2021 and August 2021, she was name for India’s Test match against England and Australia respectively. She became the first Indian female cricketer to score a century in both ODIs and Tests in Australia. In January 2022, she was named for 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. In January 2022, the ICC awarded her with the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year.