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'India In Whites Is A Different Feeling,' Smriti Mandhana Ahead Of IND-W vs ENG-W Test

image-lq2a9zbwMandhana with captain Harmanpreet at a training session (x.com)

Indian women’s team is set to return to the Test fold after more than two years, as they are slated to face their English counterparts at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai between December 14 and December 17. The match marks the first-ever women’s Test to be played on Indian soil since November 2014, back when hosts went up against South Africa in Mysore.

A couple of days prior to the much-awaited contest, Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana expressed her excitement of donning the traditional whites again, and acknowledged the recent unprecedented rise in the popularity of women’s cricket.


Smriti Mandhana on women’s cricket popularity

While speaking with the reporters a couple of days prior to India’s one-off Test match against England, opening batter and senior member Smriti Mandhana acknowledged the meteoric rise in the popularity of women’s cricket in recent years, especially since the conclusion of the 2017 World Cup in England.

The Indian vice-captain stated that the sudden popularity is quite evidenced with the crowd support they recently received at the Wankhede Stadium during last week’s T20I series against England. She said:

"A lot of things have changed for women’s cricket, especially post 2017. We could see that change at Wankhede Stadium, the kind of crowd which attended the venue to support us for T20Is and the kind of support we are getting. Plus of course the pay equality (with men’s cricketers). Definitely women’s cricket is on the rise."

Smriti Mandhana also expressed her excitement of playing a Test match at home for the first time in more than nine years. The senior Indian cricketer, a veteran of 80 ODIs and 125 T20I matches, has represented her country in just four Tests since her international debut in April 2013. She added:

“Really excited to wear the whites again at home soil. Representing India in whites is a different feeling altogether.”


India’s four-day Test against England will commence from December 14 onwards at the DY Patil Stadium. Remarkably, the much-awaited fixture will be followed by another Test match at the Wankhede Stadium, this time against the visiting Australian troops.