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Smriti Mandhana has once again proved why she is one of the biggest stars of women’s cricket. With a brilliant innings in India’s opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 against Pakistan, the stylish left-hander not only helped her team but also achieved a special feat.
After the match, former Indian captain Anjum Chopra made it clear that India’s hopes of winning the T20 World Cup will largely depend on Mandhana’s form. She also said that very few Indian batsmen have achieved what Smriti has already achieved in international cricket. Smriti Mandhana is already included in the exclusive list along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
After her brilliant performance against Pakistan in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, Anjum Chopra has given a big statement on Smriti Mandhana.
India begin their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against Pakistan on June 14 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Winning the toss, India women’s national cricket team decided to bat first, but they had a poor start against Pakistan women’s national cricket team.
That’s when Smriti Mandhana took charge and played with complete control, mixing brilliant shots with aggressive strokeplay. His brilliant inning of 68 runs in just 44 balls gave India the right platform and helped the team recover from the initial shock.
The innings also brought a big personal milestone for the left-handed opening batsman. With her fifth fifty-plus score in the T20 World Cup, Mandhana joins Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur in an elite list of most 50-plus scores by an Indian player in the history of the tournament.
Anjum Chopra called Smriti Mandhana a big match winner of India.
Her performance once again reminded everyone why she has remained one of India’s most reliable batsmen across all formats over the past few years. Meanwhile, Anjum Chopra praised Mandhana’s influence and consistency, saying that she has made an excellent career through her performances.
Anjum also pointed to Mandhana’s multiple ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year awards as testament to her excellence and said such achievements only come through sustained success at the highest level. However, the former captain refused to label Mandhana’s achievements.
“She is a match-winner for India. She has earned the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award more than once, and I think she has already done that twice. So, she is already an accomplished batsman. I don’t see any reason why I need to classify her as the best T20 or Test batsman or ODI batsman. Obviously, they play a lot of T20s. So, I don’t see her as the best batsman for India or any other team,” Anjum Chopra said in a PTI video. “I wouldn’t classify her as the best player to play for India. That’s why she’s scoring runs and that’s why she’s been ICC Cricketer of the Year more than once.”
Anjum Chopra pins India’s World Cup hopes on Smriti Mandhana’s form
With the IC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 still in its early stages, Chopra said that if Mandhana continues to be in similar form, the team’s chances of lifting the trophy could be quite strong. Harmanpreet Kaur even earned praise from cricket legends.
Chopra further added, “Look, she is a star player. She is a stylish player, and she keeps scoring runs and keeps India from winning. I mean, this is the job of a player who is playing for the Indian team, and this is the same job that Smriti does, that Harman does, that Deepti is doing, that Richa is doing, and that anyone and everyone in the team is doing. That is their job.”