WPL came and changed conversations around women’s cricket – Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana has been at the heart of the women’s cricketing revolution in India. With the WPL to kickstart in nine days’ time, she was seen speaking at the launch of the ‘Sports Forward Nation’ report by RCB. The RCB-W captain opened up on how important of a role WPL has played in transcending the stature of women’s cricket in the nation.

Talking about the questions preceding WPL, Mandhana said, “We used to play in the Big Bash League etc even before the WPL, and everyone used to ask us when we would have our own league, and the WPL came and changed the conversations around women’s cricket.”

She further added, “The IPL has done a lot for men’s cricket, and it’s like wow, the WPL can do something similarly to women’s cricket. Similarly, it will be inspiring to witness stories like these (WPL) coming from across other disciplines as well."

Mandhana also focused on the importance of grassroots development in women’s cricket, adding, “My ultimate dream is to see two women’s teams playing some gully sport and fully enjoying it. If that happens then we can say we have inspired girls to take up a sport and that will be a win for us in our life as sportspersons.”

She was flanked by RCB’s Chief Operating Officer, Rajesh Menon, who also echoed her thoughts on the grassroots development. He said, “We need more involvement and investment at the grassroots level. But to be a champion nation in sport, we need to provide our athletes with the right environment for development. It requires right decisions by the stakeholders at the right time.”