Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana emerged from Sangli, Maharashtra, as a teenage prodigy whose left-handed strokeplay promised to redefine Indian women's batting. She made her international debut at 16, and her breakout came at the 2017 World Cup in England, where her fluent strokeplay at the top of the order helped carry India to the final. In 2021 she added a landmark hundred, becoming the first Indian woman to score a century in a day-night Test, against Australia on the Gold Coast.

Mandhana has since been the fulcrum of India's batting across formats, all delicate cuts and crisp drives delivered with a mix of elegance and urgency. She has been named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year more than once, first in 2018, and holds the record for the most centuries in women's ODIs. Her exploits for Southern Brave in The Hundred and as captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, whom she led to the 2024 Women's Premier League title, have made her a genuine global star. The one gap in her record closed in November 2025, when she was part of the India side that won the country's first Women's World Cup on home soil, and she remains at the peak of her powers.