Indian opener Smriti Mandhana was named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday.
The left-handed batter, who also made it to the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year as well the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year, scored 669 runs in 12 ODIs at an average of 66.90 and 622 runs in 25 T20Is at a strike-rate of 130.67.
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Mandhana won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint award for the ‘Women’s Cricketer of the Year’, becoming only the second India woman player to bag an ICC award after fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, who was named the ICC Player of the Year in 2007.
Mandhana is currently ranked fourth in the ODI rankings and is No. 10 in T20Is.
Motivated to work harder
Reacting to the news, a delighted Mandhana said: ”...when you get acknowledged for your performances through these awards, it motivates you to work harder and do well for your team.
“The century I scored in South Africa (in Kimberley) was quite satisfying and then I had good home series against Australia and England. A lot of people used to say I do not score that much in India, so I had a point to prove to myself,” she added.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson congratulated Mandhana, saying: “Smriti enthralled fans with some wonderful performances in what was a memorable year for women’s cricket, with the ICC Women’s World T20 helping build on the momentum of last year’s World Cup.”
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