India women’s team opening batter Smriti Mandhana is excited about the trip to England not just because she will get to play a Test after seven years but also because it is the only country where she can sleep and get up early.
Smriti said she sleeps a lot everywhere. “I sleep a lot everywhere. The UK is very good because it is behind [the Indian time] and that really suits me because then I can sleep early and then I am up at 5.30-6 am. That is the only country where I can get up at 5.30-6 am,” she told teammate Jemima Rodrigues in a video posted on bcci.tv
The left-handed batter, who has played two Test matches, said she is excited to tour with the Indian team.
“I think it is quite exciting because we are touring with the Indian team after a long time. We have had tours individually for T20 leagues but really excited to go out with this bunch of girls,” added 24-year-old Smriti.
While her two Tests have yielded just 81 runs, it is in the limited-overs format that she has made a mark. In 56 women’s ODIs, she has scored 2,172 runs while in 78 women’s T20 Internationals, she has hit 1,782 runs.
Smriti had a poor outing in the recent limited-overs series against South Africa.
She managed only one half-century — an unbeaten score of 80 in the second ODI — across eight matches of the series that included ODIs and T20Is. She got an unbeaten 48 in the last T20 International. In the remaining six games, she aggregated just 85 runs.
