Smriti Mandhana can be women cricket's Vivian Richards, says Scott Styris

Smriti Mandhana has changed the way the Indian Women's Cricket Team approaches an innings in the powerplay overs. By starting aggressively and taking the fight to the rivals, the left-hander has carved a niche for herself in the cricketing realm. Amassing 2025 runs in 51 ODIs thus far along with 1677 runs in 70 T20I innings, the 23-year old bats with intent, which is evident in her strike rate of 84.41 in ODIs and 119.02 in the shortest format.

Mandhana's latest international game came during the Women's T20 World Cup on 21 February in the tournament opener against Australia. Though she could score just 10 in 11 deliveries and was overshadowed by the heroics of her opening partner Shafali Verma, former New Zealand men's cricketer Scott Styris, singled out the cricketer for noteworthy praise by calling her the 'Virat Kohli' of women's cricket.

Speaking while commentating during the men's Test match between India and New Zealand, Styris also added that Mandhana could make a huge impact in the game and leave behind an unparalleled legacy just like West Indies' Sir Vivian Richards.

“She’s (Smriti Mandhana) the Virat Kohli of women’s cricket. And will be remembered as someone who changed women’s cricket much like Viv Richards did a long time ago in men’s cricket,” Styris said.

Richards, the dasher, is long considered as the batsman who made cheeky stroke play fashionable in the 1970s and the 1980s, and is also credited with changing the way batters viewed batting.

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Mandhana, who was included in the ICC Women's ODI and the T20I Team of the Year in 2019, has been inspiring a generation of young women to take to the sport. In a heart-warming image that went viral during the 2018 Women's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean Islands, a young girl wearing jersey number 18 (Mandhana's jersey number) was keenly watching her idol thwart the rivals out of the park. It not only highlighted how the women's game has gained popularity in India, but also displayed the onus that is on Mandhana to promote this facet of cricket in the nation.