Smriti Mandhana disrespects ex-RCB teammates; fans fire salvo

Soumyajit Dutta

Smriti Mandhana gets trolled [Source: X]Smriti Mandhana gets trolled [Source: X]

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women captain Smriti Mandhana has come under criticism after a comment from the WPL 2026 post-match presentation went viral.

Following the January 12 clash against UP Warriorz, the match-winning captain said in the post-match press conference that “this is the most hardworking group we have got in the last three to four years.”

Smriti Mandhana gets brutal treatment from netizens

Fans on social media did not take the remark lightly and criticised the RCB Women’s skipper, citing examples of several players from previous seasons who played key roles in the team’s title-winning campaign in 2024.

Many netizens pointed out that without Ellyse Perry, the current RCB Women squad features five overseas players, with the rest of the team largely comprising members of the India women’s setup.

They argued that the 2024 RCB Women's team should not be overlooked and felt Smriti Mandhana’s comment was disappointing, especially given that players like Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, and Sophie Molineux from the 2024 squad were among the hardest-working contributors.

Let’s take a look at how the netizens slammed Smriti Mandhana for her comments:







RCB-W won WPL 2024 title under Mandhana’s captaincy

Notably, RCB Women won the WPL 2024 title after a mixed league-stage run but produced strong performances with both bat and ball to register a flawless run in the playoffs.

Ellyse Perry finished as the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 347 runs, while the leading wicket-takers were also from RCB Women, namely Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, and Sophie Molineux.

While Smriti Mandhana’s comment was not entirely derogatory or disrespectful towards her former teammates, it is understood that many RCB fans felt hurt by the sentiment.

Supporters believe the remark overlooked the hard work of Perry and others whose performances played a crucial role in delivering the franchise its maiden WPL trophy.