India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana believes that focusing on the World Cup after a successful campaign will not aid in their preparations for the next one. She emphasized that the Indian team has significant room for improvement as they gear up for the global T20 event scheduled for next year.
Historic Performance in T20I
Mandhana delivered a standout performance in the recently concluded fourth T20I against Sri Lanka in Trivandrum on Sunday, scoring 80 runs off 48 balls after struggling in the first three matches. With this achievement, she became the fastest female cricketer to reach 10,000 international runs, joining an elite group that includes Charlotte Edwards, Mithali Raj, and Suzie Bates.
“In cricket, you have to start from zero. The scoreboard is always zero for zero. It’s never what you’ve done in the last match or previous series as well. Internal expectations for me in all three formats are very different. Of course, T20 is slightly in a way where you can’t be extremely hard on yourself after getting out because you’re playing at a pace where there are days when it’ll come off,” Mandhana stated in a video shared by the BCCI.
Maintaining Focus and Progress
She stressed that the current team is a “work in progress,” cautioning against dwelling on their recent ODI World Cup triumph. “Like, if I had thought a lot about the first three matches, we only had one day before this one. So it’s about just prepping your mind around how you want to go about your cricket. The One Day World Cup was the biggest thing for women’s cricket, and we did take off that one. So it’s a big, big win. But again, you know, you can’t be thinking about only successes.”
Mandhana acknowledged the missed opportunities this year, underscoring the team’s youth and development phase. “If you keep thinking about the World Cup, the next one won’t come. If I had to review it more critically, I would give it 7 out of 10. We have many areas to improve as a team,” she remarked.
Gratitude to Fans
In closing, Mandhana expressed her gratitude to fans for their unwavering support during the 50-over World Cup campaign and hopes to maintain their backing moving forward. “We keep talking about it in terms of where we want to see ourselves fitness-wise, feeling-wise, and running-wise. And then, of course, power hitting now with T20s.”
She added, “I feel as an Indian team, all the fans who’ve supported us throughout the year, especially the One Day World Cup and post that kind of support we’ve got, I feel it’s just been a fantastic year for women’s cricket. I hope we just keep making them proud, and I hope they keep turning up and support us.”