You keep all your problems aside, I don’t think I love anything more than cricket: Smriti Mandhana

Team India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, on Wednesday, December 10, has stated that she loves nothing more than cricket, strolling down memory lane from her debut till winning the recent ICC ODI World Cup 2025 title.

Speaking at the Amazon Sambhav Summit, Mandhana has revealed that she has always wanted to be called a world champion since her childhood. She also asserted that the World Cup title was the reward for the battle they fought over the years.

“I don’t think I love anything more than cricket. Wearing that Indian jersey is the motivation that drives us. You keep all your problems aside, and that thought alone helps you focus on life,” she said at the Amazon Sambhav Summit.

“As a kid, the madness for batting was always there. No one understood it, but in my mind, I always wanted to be called a world champion,” she added.

“This World Cup was the reward for the battle we fought over the years. We were waiting for it so badly. I’ve been playing for more than 12 years, and many times things didn’t go our way. We visualised it before the final, and when we finally saw it on the screen, it gave us goosebumps. It was an incredible, special moment,” she stated.

“You always start an innings at zero, no matter if you scored a hundred before. And don’t play for yourself – that’s what we kept reminding each other. We really wanted to do it for them, badly. Seeing tears in their eyes made it feel like women’s cricket itself was winning. It was a battle won for all of them,” she concluded.

Notably, Mandhana will be next seen playing for the Indian team when the Women in Blue lock horns with Sri Lanka Women in a five-match T20I series, starting on Sunday, December 21, in Visakhapatnam.

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