Smriti Mandhana has been one of the standout performers from the current crop of Indian women cricketers, along with the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues. While the women’s team are currently facing a tough challenge on home soil against England, they had managed to register a convincing series win against New Zealand last month.

“I did not feel like going and practising, which is very rare. I had to literally push myself to bat, push myself into the gym. But as soon as that news came out, I read it and I was like, you have to get better. You cannot be stagnant. That news motivated me, and the next day I was back to normal: had breakfast, back to practice, wanting to do gym, wanting to do conditioning,” Cricinfo quoted Mandhana as saying.

“The sense of responsibility she has shown over these years. There was a phase of ten years when Indian batting used to depend on her. The fact that she never cribbed about it, and took on that pressure - that is one thing I would like to have in my head because it is hard when you know your wicket is important and that if you lose your wicket, the course of the match might change.

“That is a very difficult space to be in as a batter. But she has been consistent, despite being in that headspace - that is a big task. She is calm and relaxed even if there are, say, two or three dot balls. I used to get a bit panicky earlier, but she has always been calm,” Mandhana added.