Indian women’s team opener Smriti Mandhana turns 23 on 18 July, Thursday.
The southpaw was born to Shrinivas and Smita Mandhana in Mumbai in 1996. Being fostered by a district-level cricketer Shrinivas, Smriti always possessed an eternal passion for cricket with batting being her forte.
The left-handed batter has been a star player for the Indian side and in her short career has already become the No. 1 batter in the ODI Batting Rankings.
Earlier this week, she was also conferred the prestigious Arjuna Award by Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
I’m delighted to confer the prestigious Arjuna Awards to @mandhana_smriti , one of the finest Women Cricketer in the world and @rohanbopanna , Tennis star & India’s proud Asian Games Gold medalist. They couldn’t receive the Awards earlier as they were out of the country. pic.twitter.com/XbdzMzoIL8
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) July 16, 2019
Smriti is considered as one of the best batswomen in the world.
The swashbuckling left-hander, with 178 runs in 5 matches, was the 3rd highest run-getter in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2018.
Mandhana was adjudged ‘Women’s Cricketer of the Year’ as well as the ‘Women’s ODI Player of the Year’ by the ICC earlier this year. Smriti also became the youngest T20I woman captain for India when she led the women’s team against England in the first T20I at Guwahati in March.
One of the leading faces of women’s cricket in India, Smriti possesses immense grit, passion, and focus accompanied by hard work that helped her fulfil her dream. Smriti is in fact considered to an embodiment of determination, discipline, and a gifted personality.