Do we like Smriti Mandhana?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Nothing harmful in her words or company, a clean record, and real recent good, but she says little publicly on wider causes.
Mandhana was born in 1996 and made her ODI debut for India in 2013. A left-handed opener, she became the first Indian woman to score centuries in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. In 2024 she scored 1,602 international runs in a calendar year, a record.
The big recent moments are huge. She scored 434 runs at the 2025 Women's World Cup, the most by an Indian in one edition, as India took its first title. In September 2026 she hit 124 off 64 balls against Hong Kong at the Asia Cup and passed Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in women's international cricket.
Then came the leadership call. In October 2026 she replaced Harmanpreet Kaur as captain, calling it “a very special honour”. Her first job is a home series against Zimbabwe. She has also led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two Women's Premier League titles.
The messy bit was personal, not professional. Her wedding to composer Palash Muchhal was called off in December 2025, and she told the public she was “a very private person”, asked everyone to move on and put the focus back on playing for India. Muchhal said his team would take legal action against people spreading false content. Nothing we read shows her saying anything cruel about anyone.
On the harm test there's honestly not much to chew on. We found no remarks on LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the planet that cause concern, and her sponsor deals are the usual cricket-gear and nutrition brands. The flip side is that she rarely wades into wider issues. A December 2025 post complaining about her celebrating Christmas with teammate Jemimah Rodrigues drew heavy backlash, and The Week reports no statement from her about it.
The good stuff is real and recent. In October 2026 UNICEF India named her a Celebrity Advocate for adolescent girls' empowerment, health and well-being, saying she'd support its work. She told UNICEF every child “deserves the chance to dream big”. She's also been the target of unfair noise: a September 2026 fact-check rated a viral claim that she refused fans selfies as misleading.