Smriti Mandhana backs WPL as T20 World Cup catalyst

BENGALURU: From record-breaking runs to history-making silverware, Smriti Mandhana’s recent journey has been nothing short of transformational. The Indian vice-captain’s 1,703 runs across formats in 2024 — the most by a woman in a calendar year — set the stage for a crowning moment as India clinched their maiden ODI World Cup.Having already lifted the Women’s Premier League (WPL) title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2024, Smriti has established herself as both a standard-bearer and a trailblazer. The fourth edition of the WPL has only reinforced that status, with RCB coming together as the team to beat and storming into the final as table-toppers.In an exclusive interview with TOI, she speaks about the WPL’s impact, its relevance ahead of the T20 World Cup, and more.Excerpts.How much does the WPL help in setting the tone for the T20 World Cup later this year?Massive. We’ve been playing a lot of one-day cricket over the last year because of the ODI World Cup. But heading into the WPL, we were aware that a T20 World Cup is coming up in five months. This tournament has been crucial in getting back into T20 mode and sharpening our skills. It’s helped a lot of players understand where they can improve and how to build towards the World Cup.How much has the WPL helped players soak up pressure in crunch situations?This is the fourth edition of the WPL, and I genuinely feel it’s been a blessing for women’s cricket. Everyone is now used to playing in front of big crowds and handling pressure. Players are also tuned into the attention, appreciation and criticism that comes with it. The WPL prepares everyone — including us as captain and vice-captain of the Indian team — to deal with pressure situations. It’s helped us massively.How does the WPL help in bridging the gap to the national team?It’s helped enormously. For the longest time, the jump was straight from domestic cricket to international cricket, with nothing in between — and the difference in quality is huge. Only a few players could adapt quickly; many took a long time. The WPL sits perfectly in between. Players get to interact with overseas stars and Indian internationals, learn from them, assess where they stand, and understand the game better. It has brilliantly filled that gap.Second final in four editions — how does that feel as a team?A lot of credit goes to the management and support staff for how they’ve built this team over the last three years. Many things were put in place even before we arrived at the tournament, which allowed us to play the brand of cricket we did.After five wins, the team lost back-to-back games. How did you handle that phase?Those two losses taught us a lot about areas we needed to improve. Sometimes when you’re winning, certain things get masked. Losses expose those aspects and teach you valuable lessons. But the atmosphere within the group remained the same. The real strength of this team is that everyone is there for each other.Which Indian youngsters impressed you the most in this WPL?Gautami (Naik) and Prema (Yadav) really impressed me. Gautami becoming the first uncapped player to score a fifty in the WPL is a big achievement. Prema is a very good leg-spinner and an excellent fielder. She’s impressed me with both bat and ball, even though she hasn’t got many opportunities because of the team combination.When you don’t convert starts, what do you tell yourself?When I get out in the 20s or 30s, I’m extremely hard on myself. I feel like I’ve let the team down because my eyes were set and I couldn’t take the team through. I’d honestly rather get out in single digits.That said, in T20 and franchise cricket, the turnaround is very quick. You think about it for half an hour or an hour, then get back to work. It’s not just about the conversation I have with myself, but also the action I take the next day. Consistency matters — whether I get out for 0, 20, 90, or 100, I still wake up and hit the gym.Your thoughts heading into the final?What’s worked for us throughout the season is keeping things extremely simple and not overthinking. Our planning has been spot on — from batting and bowling preparations to field sets and roles. We don’t need to change much based on the opposition. Keeping it simple and doing exactly what we’ve been doing will be the key.