As the lockdown hits the cricketing world, the players have taken the job to keep the fans and the viewers entertained. Social media and YouTube spaces are occupied by the players. They are either interacting with each other on Instagram lives or are sharing time with journalists on YouTube.
Many have interacted with fans of twitter with a QnA session too. A recent revelation comes from the celebrated Indian batter where she recalls facing one of India’s top gun in the field. Smriti Mandhana, being the batter here was narrating her experience of facing Indian pacer Mohammed Shami. Interestingly, she recalled a ball that got her on the body. This instance is from the times when Shami was undergoing his rehab period.
Smriti tells that Shami had promised to not bowl at his regular pace. Moreover, he was to not get the ball near Smriti’s body. She calls Shami as her bigger brother or “bhaiyya” in the show Double Trouble. The show is available on YouTube for the fans. She recalls that the pacer was giving the balls at 120 kmph to her and had promised not to bowl on the body. Smriti went further and told that she missed the first two balls.
On the next delivery, Shami got the ball coming in and it got Mandhana on her inner thigh. She reveals that the hit gifted her bruises which she described as black, blue, and green in her jovial tone. The pace, according to her was not something that she was familiar to. The third ball was his in-dipper which got to her inner thighs. Her bruise was swollen for a good ten days.
Hats off to you @mandhana_smriti 🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/dT1u4H4f2W
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) May 4, 2020
Shami is not the talk of the town for the first time. In a recent interaction, his teammate Rohit too revealed how Shami would rub his hands when the practice pitch has extra grass on the top or there is moisture on it. He added that Shami is one of the trickiest bowlers to face in a net. Bumrah and Shami, according to him have a competition where the pacer with the most ball on batsman’s helmet is declared the winner.
The tale from Smriti narrate her courage and the ambition to play alongside the best in the world. She is being lauded by cricket fans and the experts to face one of the few bowlers who pose a problem to India’s greatest. With more players and names coming from women’s cricket, we may see the line of distinction fading.
The skillset of female players will rise and gradually, with a transition, they might be ready to compete with players irrespective of their gender.
Loves all things female cricket
