As the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to begin from October 3rd, all eyes are on India’s star batter Smriti Mandhana. The left-handed opener is expected to play a crucial role in India’s campaign, carrying the hopes and expectations of millions of fans and her teammates.
Aware of the immense pressure and responsibility on her shoulders, Mandhana has expressed a desire to seek guidance from India’s former men’s captain Virat Kohli. She believes that learning from Kohli’s experience in handling high-pressure situations could help her better manage her nerves throughout the tournament. With this proactive approach, Mandhana aims to elevate her game and make a significant impact on India’s performance in the upcoming World Cup.
In a recent interview with Jatin Sapru on Star Sports, Mandhana, who chose Kohli as her favorite batsman from the men’s team, shared insights from her conversation with the Indian cricket icon earlier this year.
Smriti Mandhana shared insights from her conversation with Virat Kohli, focusing on his batting mindset and handling expectations. She asked him about his approach to batting and his ability to manage the high expectations placed upon him. Kohli responded by saying, ‘I don’t look at it as expectations, I just do what my team wants.’ Mandhana reflected that this perspective, while not always apparent in Kohli’s performances, helped her adopt a better mindset for herself.
“I did ask him a lot of things about batting”, Mandhana said. “I really wanted to know what his mindset is and I have a problem of my grip changing a bit like after every tour, so I asked him about it”.
Later, while talking about the topic of handling expectations, Mandhana said, “Kohli’s perspective is very different about this. He thinks very calmly when people are expecting more from him when the team is under pressure. On that, Kohli said, “I don’t look at it as expectations, I just do what my team wants”, so that was something, you know.”
While Mandhana acknowledged that she already shared a similar mindset, she emphasized the positive impact of Kohli’s words. “It never comes out you know, it never comes out in our performances, but after hearing from him, I thought you know, I was in a better mindset”, she explained.
The women’s team is set to commence their journey for an elusive World Cup title when the tournament starts. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will face New Zealand in their opening match on October 4th in Dubai.