MUMBAI: At a time when the country's cricket fans have been left hurting by the Indian men's team's poor show on the recently-concluded South African tour, here's a piece of good to lift their spirits: In another feather in her cap, opening bat Smriti Mandhana on Monday won the 'Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award' for the ICC's Women's Cricketer of the Year for 2021.
This is the second time that Mandhana, who won this award in 2018 as well, has bagged the prestigious honour. Widely tipped to be the next captain of the Indian women's team post Mithali Raj's retirement, Mandhana's stock continued to rise in 2021, scored 855 runs in 22 internationals at an average of 38. 86 with one century and five half-centuries.
While her white-ball show was stellar, the high point for the 25-year-old, who hails from Sangli in Maharashtra was, of course, a brilliant, maiden century that she scored in India's first-ever pink ball Test against Australia at Gold Coast. In June, she also stroked 78 in India's one-off Test against England at Bristol in August.
"She richly deserves this honour. It's definitely a shot in the arm for women's cricket in India. At a time when our men's team isn't doing too well, this award comes as a silver lining," former India women's captain Shanta Rangaswamy told TOI.
"I congratulate her for this well-deserved award. I'm happy that an Indian has won this award. She's proved her mettle in all the three formats of the game. She bats fluently in white-ball cricket, and her Test hundred against Australia was a lovely knock" ex-India player Diana Edulji said.
It seems to be only a matter of time before she becomes the captain of the team. "I won't be surprised if she becomes the captain in all the formats once Mithali retires. As for her batting, she was excellent on Australian pitches. I think that she likes it when the ball comes on to the bat. She seems to be slowly getting into the mould of Mithali, in the sense that like her, she loves to take the main responsibility of carrying the team. Like Mithali, she'll make for an ideal captain because she's set an example for others. By scoring runs, you tend to become an inspiration for your teammates," praised Rangaswamy.
