Hope we can take women’s cricket to a higher level this year, says Smriti

Mandhana was nominated along with three other outstanding performers in the T20 format. Pakistan's Nida Dar, New Zealand's Sophie Devine and Australia's Tahlia McGrath.

India’s women cricketers fell just a step short of winning their maiden T20 World Cup title in 2020. Ahead of the next edition, Smriti Mandhana, the vice-captain, isn’t putting too much pressure on herself — and her teammates - in order to bring back the trophy from South Africa in February.

“I am not a person who is huge on setting targets. I am not someone who says I’ll do this and do that. Let’s hope we can take women’s cricket to a higher level this year,” Smriti told  The Hindu while responding to a query on her targets for 2023. “We shall try and do whatever we can to achieve it. Hopefully towards the end of the year, we will have a few trophies and inspire a lot of other girls to play cricket.”

Smriti, the stylish opener, is coming off yet another magnificent year in international cricket, tallying almost 1,200 runs combined in ODIs and T20Is. While she was delighted “with my effort and especially with the Commonwealth Games medal”, she played down the hype surrounding the Women’s Indian Premier League.

Smriti was speaking on the sidelines of an event to announce her association with Herbalife Nutrition. She stressed that the awareness about nutritional aspect has been on the rise in women’s cricket.

“In the last four-five years, it’s grown a lot. Earlier cricket was termed as a skill-sport a lot but now with the increased number of games and hectic schedule we have, nutrition has become a vital aspect for fitness,” she said.

“It’ll be one of the most important aspects going forward. Even for me, post my ACL (injury rehab in 2017), I am more aware about my nutrition — how much protein intake I should have and hydration levels, understanding my body better and plan accordingly, besides gym and physical conditioning. If we have to compete at the highest level be the top team in the world, we have to look after ourselves and nutrition is one of the most important parts of it.”

Smriti Mandhana believes that Women’s IPL will create bench strength for India and help the girls see higher pressure situations. The inaugural Women’s IPL season is anticipated to start from March 3 to 26.