Manchester Super Giants Rope In Smriti Mandhana for Women’s Hundred 2026 Season

Smriti Mandhana, a star for Team India, was confirmed as a member of the Manchester Super Giants team on January 15 and will participate in The Women's Hundred 2026. The news followed the Manchester-based team's name change from Manchester Originals to Manchester Super Giants. Emirates Old Trafford will continue to host the team's home games. Under the joint ownership of Lancashire Cricket and the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG), the transition represents a new beginning.

The signing comes after Manchester Originals changed their name to Manchester Super Giants following the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group's (RPSG) acquisition of a 70% share in collaboration with Lancashire Cricket. With a new name, the team will still play its home games at Emirates Old Trafford. Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of the Manchester Super Giants, talked candidly about the Manchester team's integration into the Super Giants family, describing it as the start of a new chapter in UK cricket that is based on ambition and steady growth. 

Smriti Mandhana Enters Women’s Hundred 2026:

Confirming the inclusion, Sanjiv Goenka said, “For the women’s team, we have brought together an exceptional blend of experience and excellence, featuring some of the most accomplished players in the global game: Meg Lanning, Smriti Mandhana, and Sophie Ecclestone. Together, they reflect the standards and ambition we want the Manchester Super Giants to represent.”

A quick start from Smriti Mandhana, but she toe-ends to Kate Cross at mid-off and departs for 19

Southern Brave 34/1 after 24 ballshttps://t.co/Wn6z800SzH | #TheHundredpic.twitter.com/TecE6s7aEJ

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 5, 2021

Mandhana, who represented Southern Brave Women from 2021 to 2024, is back at The Hundred. The left-handed opener scored 676 runs in 29 innings with a strike rate of 139.09 during her four-season tenure, including five half-centuries. She became the first player to reach 500 runs in the history of the Women's Hundred and was one of the most reliable hitters in the early years of the competition. Back-to-back fifties in 2023 and a successful 2022 season in which she was the Southern Braves' top scorer were among her best efforts.

A new coaching system has also been unveiled by the Manchester Super Giants. Justin Langer will lead the men's team, Matthew Mott will coach the women's team, and Tom Moody has been named Global Director of Cricket. The team has signed players like Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen, Noor Ahmad, and Liam Dawson for the men's division.

Watch this space for more cricket news and updates.