Heather Knight, the captain of the England cricket team, has revealed that her teammate Smriti Mandhana struggled to cope with the pressure of captaining Royal Challengers Bangalore in the recently concluded Women's Premier League (WPL).
Speaking on the ICC 100% Cricket Podcast, Knight explained that Mandhana found the captaincy role "quite tricky" and struggled to manage the hype that surrounded the inaugural edition of the WPL. Despite leading a team comprising international heavyweights, Mandhana's side won only two of their eight matches, finishing fourth out of five teams.
Knight, who also played for RCB, stated that she felt the amount of pressure on Mandhana was "unlike probably no one has experienced before" and that it affected her performance. Mandhana was signed up by RCB for INR 3.4cr, the highest winning bid at the WPL auction earlier this year, and was named captain despite her relative lack of experience in the role. She also struggled with the bat, scoring only 149 runs in eight games, at an average of 18.62 and a strike rate of 111.19.
However, Knight believes that Mandhana will learn from the experience and become a better captain as a result. "She's quite a relaxed, calm captain. And certainly, one that wants to bring the group together," Knight said. "Her role in the Indian side as the vice-captain is to bring the group together, and bring the younger players and the older players together. So that's certainly one of our strengths."
Despite RCB's struggles, Knight enjoyed her experience at the WPL and described it as a "really great competition to be involved in." The tournament was intense both on and off the field, with players having to film advertisements and make other off-field commitments. Knight, however, took it all in stride and said that it was a "very different experience" from anything she had experienced before.
In conclusion, while Mandhana may have struggled with the captaincy role in the WPL, she has a bright future ahead of her and is sure to learn from the experience. As for Knight, she will look back on her time in the WPL with fond memories and will undoubtedly be eager to participate in future editions of the tournament.