Smriti Mandhana has her sights set firmly on 2026, with the T20 World Cup and the Women’s Premier League (WPL) on the horizon. The left-handed batsman has enjoyed a stellar year across formats and will be eager to end 2025 on a high when India take on Sri Lanka in the fifth and final T20I on Tuesday, December 30 at the Greenfield International Stadium in Trivandrum.
After the T20I series, Mandhana will turn her attention to the WPL where she will represent Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). She endured a quiet start to the ongoing series, struggling for runs in the first three games before rediscovering her touch on Saturday. with a smooth 80 off 48 balls to guide India to a 30-run victory.
Mandhana returned to T20I cricket after making her last appearance in the format during India’s tour of England in July. The southpaw revealed that she used the break from international cricket to make the most of her free time and prepare specifically for the demands of the shortest format.
“With this series, the WPL and the T20 World Cup, there’s a lot of T20 cricket ahead of us. I personally had some time off to prepare specifically for the format. T20s require some adjustments here and there, but I’m glad it worked out today. I was wondering why it didn’t come together in the first three matches,” Mandhana said in a video recorded for the women.
MANDHANA ON A RECORD SPREAD
Earlier, Mandhana became the first Indian woman to reach 4000 runs in women’s T20 cricket. She then crossed the 10,000 run mark in women’s international cricket, becoming only the third player to do so after Mithali Raj, Suzie Bates and Charlotte Edwards.
The left-hander also bettered her own record for most runs scored by a woman in a calendar year in international cricket, amassing 1,703 runs from 32 innings.
Mandhana will begin her WPL campaign on the opening day of the tournament, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on two-time champions Mumbai Indians on January 9 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai – the same venue where India lifted the World Cup in November.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
December 30, 2025
