I love..: Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana opens up after wedding call-off

Smriti Mandhana has always been one of the calmest and most composed faces in Indian cricket, but her latest appearance carried a different kind of honesty. Days after calling off her wedding, she stepped out in public and made it clear what matters most in her life. She said she doesn’t think she loves anything more than cricket, and that the game has always been the one thing that keeps her steady no matter what is happening around her.

This was Mandhana’s first public event since she announced on December 7 that both families had mutually decided to call off the wedding with Palash Muchhal. She requested privacy in her post and said she wanted to close the chapter right there. A day later, her brother shared a picture of her back at training, which told its own story about how quickly she had switched focus.

Smriti attended the Amazon Smbhav Summit at Bharat Mandapam alongside India captain Harmanpreet Kaur. She was also named in India’s squad for the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting December 21 in Visakhapatnam, showing that her preparation for the next big assignment has already begun.

Speaking at the event, Mandhana looked back at her journey from her debut in 2013 to becoming one of the pillars of India’s World Cup-winning side last month. She said wearing the Indian jersey still gives her the same fire and that it is the thought that pushes her through every difficult moment. She also spoke about how the dream of being a world champion stayed with her since childhood and how winning the trophy felt like the reward for years of effort, heartbreak and waiting.

She recalled the emotions of the final and how the presence of legends Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami made the moment even more special. Mandhana said the team wanted to win it for them as much as for themselves.

Looking back at the tournament, she said the World Cup taught her two simple lessons: every innings starts at zero, and you should never play for yourself. For her, those reminders shaped the team’s mindset and helped them stay grounded.