Southern Brave Ignore Smriti Mandhana; RCB Captain Not Retained For The Hundred 2025

Mandhana rejected by Southern Brave [Source: TataWPL20.COM]

In a shocking turn of events, Smriti Mandhana, the star India player and the captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) women side, was not retained by The Hundred franchise, Southern Brave. Interestingly, her RCB teammate and England opener, Dani Wyatt was one of the first retention in the list.

Apart from Wyatt, Laura Wolvaardt, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier and Freya Kemp were retained by the Southern Brave. Mandhana, over the years has done well for the franchise, but they decided not to pick her, a move which surprised many.

Mandhana had a challenging 2024 season

Despite delivering goods in the past, Mandhana had a challenging 2024 season, where she could only accumulate 60 runs in 5 matches, at an average of 14.75 and a strike-rate of 155. Perhaps the lack of runs in the last season prompted the Southern Brave side to go on a different direction instead of retaining the India star.

Mandhana, however, had an outstanding 2022 season, where she slammed 211 runs and followed it up with 238 runs in the 2023 season.

RCB skipper's topsy-turvy WPL 2025 season

In the 4 matches she played at this year's WPL, Mandhana has only scored 122 runs in 4 matches, with a solitary fifty to her name. She hasn't looked at her fluent best as RCB's batting has been affected and the majority of the workload has been taken care by Ellyse Perry.

Southern Brave 2025 retention

Southern Brave Women: Laura Wolvaardt (Overseas - Direct Signing), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Maia Bouchier, Lauren Bell, Freya Kemp, Georgia Adams, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Rhianna Southby

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