'A lot of hard work behind the scenes' - Smriti Mandhana speaks up on RCB's revival in WPL 2024

In a recent interview, Smriti Mandhana, the skipper of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) women's team, opened up about the team's journey in the Women's Premier League (WPL) Season 2. Mandhana highlighted the significant turnaround the team has experienced after a disappointing debut season in the league.

Reflecting on the team's progress, Mandhana emphasised the collective effort that went into improving their performance. She credited the hard work of the players, support staff, and RCB management for their renewed success. Mandhana expressed gratitude for the management's trust in the team, allowing them to shape the squad according to their vision.

"We couldn't step up and play the cricket we wanted to play [last year]. But yeah, last one year, a lot of thoughts have gone into this. A lot of hard work behind the scenes, not only from my side but all the support staff, and the RCB management. For them to show their faith in all of us was just amazing," she said as quoted by Crcibuzz.

"You know, the only conversation they had was that 'this is your team, make it the way you want to'. So that was really nice from their side to do that. And yeah, I wouldn't say that [this has been a] really satisfying campaign still, but we had a lot of ups and downs. We started off really well and then had a little bit of dip. But that's how WPL and T20 cricket is. You'll have good days and bad days," she added.

Despite facing challenges throughout the season, including highs and lows, Mandhana commended her teammates for their resilience. She particularly praised Ellyse Perry's remarkable bowling performance against the Mumbai Indians, which set the tone for their victory.

"So definitely the way Perry bowled was just brilliant to watch. I was at mid-off and it was just a sight to watch, the way she was seaming the ball was really nice. And, yeah, I think we knew that the wicket is not that easy and we have to actually put in good work with the bat. I'm really happy with the way Richa and Pez [Perry] finished it," Mandhana added. 

Mandhana also shed light on the team's mindset during crucial matches, emphasising the importance of focusing on their own game rather than worrying about external factors. She stressed the significance of maintaining simplicity in approach, treating each match as a knockout game.

"We always knew that out of the two if we win any - even that 1-run game - we would have made the knockouts. So, we are not looking at what other teams are doing or what's happening, what's the equation, the net run rate etc because that can sometimes really take away the cricket. We talked about 'let's treat it as a quarterfinal, a semifinal and then the final, and not make it too complicated. Let's go out there and play the best cricket we can, and that's what we've tried to do.

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"And yeah, we didn't really complicate it a lot. We just spoke on things which went away in the Delhi match and things that didn't go our way. We had decent chats and one-on-ones with a lot of the players. And including Luke [Williams, the head coach]. He's been just amazing just handling the whole group and their emotions. Especially I think with RCB and the kind of fan base [it has], it's not an easy thing to come in in your first year and be able to do that. As Indians we are used to it. But for someone from coming outside to do that, I think he's just done an amazing job. Even the support staff I think they have been brilliant," she added.

It's just amazing to watch the domestic talent growing: Mandhana

Furthermore, Mandhana applauded the emergence of Indian talent in the WPL, highlighting the impact of domestic players in the league. She lauded players like Deepti Sharma for their stellar performances, acknowledging their crucial contributions to the team's success.

"It's just amazing to watch the domestic talent growing. You've seen a lot of stories which I think it started from the first first match for a girl from Kerala to hit six off the first ball of WPL is something I don't think I would have [pulled off] had I been an inexperienced, uncapped player. That was something in front of the whole crowd. And then of course I would miss some names so I wouldn't name anyone but it's just been amazing to watch the whole tournament the way Indians have stepped up.

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"Even I think, you know, the way Deepti [Sharma] batted yesterday was just brilliant to watch. Of course, she's an experienced player but, again, the kind of responsibility and the way she batted was just amazing. And I think overall it's just been a really nice thing for the crowds to turn up and the Indian girls getting exposed to that. Definitely Chinnaswamy was the loudest ever I have played at so it was really something for the domestic girls to feel it. So yeah, I'm really happy and really looking forward to have these people you know in the setup somewhere and mixed in the international setup somewhere," she concluded.