Smriti Mandhana aspires to become a match-winner like Virat Kohli

India’s swashbuckling opener Smriti Mandhana doesn’t want to pay heed to the comparison being drawn between her and Virat Kohli but aspires to become a bigger match-winner like the poster boy of Indian cricket. Both the cricket stars wear jersey number 18 and have a wrong-footed bowling action.

“I am happy being Smriti Mandhana of women’s team but the kind of batting he does and the way he wins matches for India, It’s very inspirational,” Smriti was quoted as saying to Indianexpress.com. The 24-year-old has brought several laurels for her and the country in her six years of international cricket and also credits her family for being supportive throughout.

“As a kid, I used to go and play with my brother (Shravan Mandhana). I used to copy him and bat with him. That’s how it all began. I chose cricket as my career when I was 15 or 16 when I scored a century for Maharashtra. More than my dream it was my family’s dream that I play for India and they always supported me,” she said.

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Like every other cricketer, Mandhana is also excited about the women’s T20 Challenge to be played in UAE. Speaking how during the lockdown the opener said, “This is the first time in several years that I happened to stay at home for that long. The first month was a bit tough since I didn’t have the habit of staying at home.

“But gradually adjusted by working out at home with the equipment available. In the last month I have started batting. It was tough but also special that I got to spend time with my family. Playing cards trying to be around them.”

She also informed she is not much into Netflix and Amazon Prime because spending time with family is more valuable to her. “I am not too much into Netflix and Amazon because spending quality time with family is more valuable. Just being around them and trying to read some books. I also cook on some odd days and I’m cycling too. However, following the news has been pretty painful. So many heartbreaking stories. Once I read them it takes me 15 minutes to absorb it and I can’t read anything further,” she stated.