Most of the physios ruled me out of 2017 World Cup after I got injured in WBBL: Smriti Mandhana

It was in during the 2017 World Cup that the Women’s cricket in India changed forever. India qualified for the final of the tournament defeating the favourites Australia thanks to Harmanpreet Kaur‘s whirlwind innings. Another player who had become the sensation of the nation was Smriti Mandhana. It was her explosive knocks at the start of India’s campaign that had set the tone for the team.

But all was not easy for the left-hander ahead of the mega event. Smriti had injured herself during the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). She had suffered an ACL injury (Ligament tear) and had to undergo surgery. An intense rehabilitation followed and not many physios had given her a chance to make it to the World Cup.

Smriti Mandhana, recalling those days while speaking on the fourth episode of ‘The Finish Line’ hosted by Saurav Ghoshal, has revealed that almost 80% physios thought that she will not be able to get fit in time for the mega event. However, she was able to regain fitness just in time thanks to the physios and trainers at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

“It was quite funny, tearing my ACL while bowling. When I fell during the Big Bash match, I knew that it was a major injury. When I incurred the injury, the first thing I thought about was the World Cup. 80 per cent of the physios had ruled me out of the World Cup, but there were a few physios and trainers at NCA (National Cricket Academy), who thought that I will be able to make it because I am a batter,” she said.

Smriti Mandhana’s 2017 WC campaign

Explaining further about her injury, Smriti Mandhana stated she was able to recover only because she was a left-handed batter. Her left leg was injured and being the left-hander, she puts a lot of weight on her right leg while batting. “I am lucky that I am a left-hander and I put a lot of weight on my right leg and not on my left leg, so all these factors gave the trainers confidence that I can make it to the World Cup,” the 24-year-old added.

As far as her performance in the tournament was concerned, she smashed 196 runs in the first two matches for India. But her form deserted in the next few matches but thanks to other top players, India made it to the final only to miss the chance of lifting the trophy for the first time under pressure.