When the Bat Meets Bigotry: The Early Struggles of Smriti Mandhana

At just 27, Smriti Mandhana has emerged as one of the brightest stars in Indian women’s cricket. Her elegant drives and fearless stroke play have inspired countless young girls across the country. But her journey has not just been about sporting triumphs. Behind the millions of cheers lies a story of prejudice of remarks made not at her, but at her parents. As she revealed in a recent appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati 15, people would warningly tell her father: “If she gets tanned, no one will marry her.”

Smriti didn’t come out of nowhere. Her father, Shrinivas Mandhana, and brother had both played district-level cricket in Sangli, a background often revered, not derided. In fact, it was the unfulfilled dream of her father that became the foundation for hers. Wanting to chase the goals he never could, he encouraged Smriti and her brother to play, hoping at least one of them would reach “India level.”

From the time she was a child, cricket was more than a hobby, it was family DNA. She grew up fetching balls for her brother during practice sessions. Watching him bat, she developed an instinctive feel for the game. Although naturally a right-hander, she began batting left-handed simply because that’s how her brother did later evolving into her signature style.

Yet, the biggest allies in her journey were not just her own talent or her father’s dream, but the determination of her parents, especially her father, to stand by her. In a society where many frowned upon girls playing outdoors, let alone cricket, the Mandhanas held firm.

Smriti recalled that people often mocked her parents, saying that if she played and got “sun-tanned,” she’d become unmarriageable. “My parents were taunted… but the better part was that they never left me at the receiving end. They allowed me to play,” she said.

Imagine the courage it takes to let a daughter chase leather balls under the scorching sun, while knowing that whispers are following, not of admiration, but of social impropriety. Yet, for the Mandhanas, cricket was more valuable than conventional expectations. Their belief in Smriti’s potential outweighed loud societal murmurs.

Choosing cricket and pursuing it seriously was already a bold act. But Smriti didn’t just play; she reshaped the meaning of “women’s cricket” in India. Growing up playing mainly with boys (since few girls dared to pick up the bat), she honed her game in a rough-and-ready environment, often proving her mettle in spaces where she was expected to be out of place.

Her early years in cricket weren’t just training sessions, they were acts of quiet defiance, of rewriting the script of what a “girl’s place” could be. Each practice under the sun, each shot played, was a statement: talent doesn’t depend on gender, and dreams don’t fade under scrutiny.

Smriti Mandhana’s journey offers more than a sports narrative, it’s a lens into deeply entrenched biases that many daughters still face.

• For girls: Her story shows that societal taunts, no matter how hurtful don’t define your worth. Dreams deserve pursuit.
• For parents: It’s a powerful reminder: support and belief can be the bedrock on which a child’s future is built. Choosing encouragement over conformity can change lives.
• For society: It challenges the narrow view that external appearance or “marriage-readiness” determines a girl’s value. Cricket, competence, character, these should matter more.

When Smriti steps on the field today, bat in hand and grit in her eyes, she doesn’t just represent runs or records. She carries the legacy of a family that believed, in spite of doubts, in spite of taunts. Her success is as much hers as it is a tribute to the quiet defiance of her childhood home

Smriti’s journey is far from over. But then, neither are the stereotypes. And every time she plays a match, every time she laughs off criticisms and answers them with performance, she chips away at those old, harsh words. In doing so, she tells a generation: don’t let someone else’s narrow vision of you limit your own.

If there’s one lesson from her story, it’s this: sometimes, the biggest wins happen off the field, in belief, in resistance, in conviction.

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