With the ICC Women's T20 World Cup and Women's Premier League 2023 over now, the Indian Women's team cricketers are on a break, preparing for their future endeavors. Smriti Mandhana, who led Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural edition of the WPL, did not enjoy much success as the franchise failed to qualify for the play-off and Smriti did not have a good season with the bat herself, scoring only 149 runs in 8 games with an average of 18.62. Her struggles against off-spin was visible since the T20 World Cup and the intense WPL made the issue look much bigger. Smriti currently needs some time off cricket to reassess the position she is in, prepare and return. Amidst that, she also started to start a new journey in terms of her academic career. ‘Virat Kohli Motivated Us’ Heather Knight Reveals Star Cricketer Had a Chat With Smriti Mandhana's RCB-W Ahead of WPL 2023 Match vs UP Warriorz (Watch Video).
Smriti, who is currently the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team, has enrolled herself for a Bcom degree at the Sanjay Godawat University in Kohlapur. Smriti wanted to pursue science at a young age, but due her commitments to cricket, she enrolled in a renowned commerce college at Sangli after her boards. Although, she could not continue studies at that point and now she wants complete the incomplete task.
Sanjay Ghodawat, the chairman of the group which runs the university said to Times of India " It is our pleasure that a reputed sports star has enrolled for the graduation course. We have always supported sporting activities and ensured that sportsperson fare well in academics too. Recently, Aishwarya Jadhav, an under-18 tennis star who has played the junior Wimbledon, has taken admission in our institution." A senior official at the university said “She told us that she had to quit her studies as she was busy with cricket. But she wanted to complete her graduation and would attend classes and write her papers.” Mumbai Indians Win WPL 2023, Beat Delhi Capitals in Final to Become Inaugural Women’s Premier League Champions.
According to a statement issued by Smriti Mandhana, she explained what led to her choice of the university. "I felt a positive vibe after arriving on the campus. The university has all the sporting facilities I need. Therefore, it naturally becomes my first and only choice for completing my education," Mandhana said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2023 04:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).