In a crowning moment for Indian women’s cricket, elegant left-handed opener and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana claimed her fifth BCCI International Cricketer of the Year award at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 on March 15, equaling Virat Kohli’s record. The 29-year-old’s sensational 2025 returns, 1,703 international runs, the most by any woman in a calendar year, propelled her to this pinnacle, following previous wins in 2018, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2023-24.
Smriti Mandhana’s dominance shone brightest in the ODI format, where she amassed 1,362 runs at a strike rate of 109.92 and an average of 61.9 across 23 innings. This haul included five half-centuries and five centuries, capping a historic year as the first woman to surpass 1,000 ODI runs in a single calendar year. Her T20I exploits added 341 runs at a strike rate of 135.85 and an average of 37.88 in nine innings, featuring two half-centuries and a century, her maiden in the format.
The pinnacle arrived at the 13th ICC Women’s ODI World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from September 30 to November 2, 2025. Under skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and head coach Amol Muzumdar, India clinched their maiden senior-level ICC title, defeating Laura Wolvaardt’s South Africa by 52 runs in the final at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
Mandhana spearheaded the batting assault, ending as India’s leading run-scorer and the tournament’s second highest with 434 runs at a strike rate of 99.08 and average of 54.25 in nine innings, including two half-centuries and a century. Her pre-tournament fireworks, a blistering 50-ball century against Australia in New Delhi, shattered Virat Kohli’s 52-ball record for the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian batter.
Overall, Smriti Mandhana has 5,411 ODI runs at an average of 47.88 in 120 innings, including 35 half-centuries and 14 centuries in 120 matches with the bat for her side in the format. In the T20Is, she has 4,231 runs at a strike rate of 124.51 and an average of 30.43 in 154 innings, including 33 half-centuries and a century in 160 matches with the bat for her side in the format so far. She also has 635 runs at an average of 48.84 in 14 innings, including 3 half-centuries and a couple of centuries in 8 matches with the bat for her side in the Test matches so far.
Mandhana’s poise, power, elegance and consistency have redefined opening the innings, blending artistry with aggression to inspire a golden era.
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