Smriti Mandhana

The bespectacled teenager gave up science in school, and a probable career in hospitality, and has no regrets whatsoever. After all, she was only the second Indian cricketer to feature in a foreign T20 league, had a World Cup century against her name, another one in Australia and a double ton in domestic one-day competition all by the age of 20!

As a nine-year-old, Mandhana signed up for cricket trials for fun. She'd accompanied her older brother for enough of those sessions to pick up left-handed batting even though she is otherwise right-handed. At just 11, she was fast-tracked to the Maharashtra Under-19 side and four years later, to the senior team. The youngster announced herself at the domestic stage with a stunning 155 on debut against Saurashtra.

Mandhana made a 50 on Test debut, playing a crucial hand in India's historic Test win in England in 2014. She didn't do justice to her talent in two successive editions of the World T20, and in the debut WBBL stint, but lit up the 2017 World Cup with two scintillating knocks after spending over five months out of action due to an ACL tear.

With one spot in foreign players' list for the second edition of ECB's Women's Cricket League still up for grabs, Mandhana's assault on England on her World Cup debut came as a timely reminder of her capabilities.

Mandhana’s cricket only went from strength to strength as the years went by. By 2019, she wasn’t just a regular but was being thrust into leadership roles in the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur. Aged 22, she became India’s youngest T20I captain when she led the squad in a 3-match series against England. The same year, she was also named the International Woman Cricketer of the Year at the CEAT International Cricket Awards.

A maiden Test century came in 2021 against England and she continued to be India’s talisman with the bat across formats. She was part of the Indian teams that won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and gold at the 2023 Asian Games.

As one of the best top-order batters around, Mandhana continued to bag deals in T20 competitions across the globe. She was drafted by the Southern Brave in the inaugural edition of the Hundred and by 2025, had played for four different BBL franchises as well.

Perhaps Mandhana’s greatest achievement as a T20 cricketer, however, came when she led the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a WPL title in 2024. While winning the competition was significant in itself, the fact that Mandhana became the first skipper to place a trophy in RCB’s bare cabinet made the occasion even more momentous.

By Purnima Malhotra & Anurag Hegde