'It's been a great year' - Smriti Mandhana reflects on stellar season post winning Best International Cricketer Award

Ace batter Smriti Mandhana opened up on an excellent year both personally and for the India Women’s Team after being named the Best International Cricketer in 2024-25 in the women’s game at the 2026 Naman Awards. 

Mandhana had an amazing 2024-25 season with the bat. The top-order batter went on to score 1,800 runs across formats, where she scored a total of seven centuries, six in ODIs and one in T20I. 

The left-handed batter played a vital role in helping India secure their maiden Women’s World Cup on home soil. She was her side’s leading run-getter in the tournament, scoring 434 runs at an average of 54.25 whilst maintaining a strike rate of just under 100.

It is worth mentioning that this is the second year in a row that Mandhana has been crowned the Best international women's cricketer.

“It's been a great year. Again, I can't really mention a lot about my own performance because of the way we played the World Cup and winning the World Cup, that was pretty special. But for me individually as well, it was a great year in terms of doing what I could for the team and I'm happy that I could contribute to that. As I mentioned in the speech, four World Cups and one Champions Trophy, that's pretty amazing,” Mandhana said after receiving her accolade. 
 
“And for Indian Cricket, we had a few years where there were no World Cups and a lot of people had a lot of things to say. But I think to come back in the last two years and do what Indian Cricket has done, it's just amazing. And just to be part of the evening and celebrate all the teams, it's just amazing. Yeah, again, I always feel that if you want to do something special, you want to go on to win the World Cup. It doesn't just happen in that World Cup. The preparation has to start,” she added. 

WPL has really changed the way women's cricket has been played: Mandhana

Mandhana also credited the advent of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for being the torchbearer of change in the women’s game. The T20 competition has given a platform to a host of players, not only domestic but international as well.

The 29-year-old led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to their second WPL title earlier this year, beating the Delhi Capitals in the final in Vadodara. She finished the tournament as the Orange Cap winner, having scored 377 runs, including hitting 87 in the showpiece final.

“And for us, to be fair, Jay [Shah] sir has been just amazing in the last three years, four years from the time he's come and he's got WPLs. WPL has really changed the way women's cricket has been played. And again, the equal pick in terms of the match fees. And, smaller things, more than all those things, just the kind of support staff was provided, the kind of facilities which were provided, whatever was asked was given,” she said.
 
“So, when you do those sorts of things right, the result comes and then the under-19 women's winning the World Cup and as well as WPL creating stars and then us going on to win the World Cup, that's just the start of something really great,” Mandhana concluded.

Speaking of the upcoming assignments for Mandhana, the Indian vice-captain is currently preparing for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, which begins April 17 in Durban.