“If she gets tanned, no one will marry her,” Smriti Mandhana reveals how her parents were TAUNTED by people for letting her play cricket 

Smriti Mandhana's parents always gave her the freedom to play and pursue cricket as a career as her father was denied the same.

“If she gets tanned, no one will marry her,” Smriti Mandhana reveals how her parents were TAUNTED by people for letting her play cricket 

Smriti Mandhana with her family (Image via Instagram)

Smriti Mandhana has been one of India’s most important players for the Indian team since she broke out as an 18 year old. Mandhana is regarded as one of the best women batters in the world, with consistent performances in all formats and leagues. 

Recently she featured in the popular Indian quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati, with fellow Indian cricketer Ishan Kishan. In the show she revealed that her family was the reason she became a cricketer. 

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She revealed her father and brother were both district level cricketers. When she and her brother were born, her father Shrinivas Mandhana had decided to let them both play. She joked she learnt cricket from her mother’s womb and watching her brother play helped as well. Despite being a prodigy in cricket, her parents were constantly hounded, as people started claiming she would never get married. 

My parents were taunted by the people - 'If she gets tanned, no one will marry her.' But the best thing was, they never let me bear the brunt. They allowed me to play.
Smriti Mandhana

Mandhana said she credited her father for her success as they gave her freedom. She added that she started her career by playing with boys due to the scarcity of women cricketers in Sangli. 

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Smriti Mandhana says Wankhede pitch was easy to bat on 

India recently played their 2nd Test of the year. They had beaten England in the DY Patil Stadium and then beat Australia in the Wankhede Stadium. Both the Tests were under security due to the pitches, with spinners playing an important role. 

Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana scored a half century (Image via ESPN)

Batting first, Australia scored 219 in their first innings, but India got a huge lead of 187. The Australians tackled the Indian spinners, but could only set up a target of 75 which the Indians chased down. 

With the pitch under loads of scrutiny, Mandhana defended it, calling it easy to bat. She said if the batters showed patience and applied themselves, batting wouldn’t be hard. She also told her opening partner, Shefali Verma, to bat positively. Mandhana had scored 74 and 38 in the 4-day Test match. 

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