Indian women's cricket team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana called out the obsession over the India-Pakistan clash ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 and called for the entire tournament to be hyped. The comments come ahead of the opening game of the tournament for both teams, where the arch-rivals will go head-to-head against each other on July 14 at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.
Mandhana recalled the clash between the neighboring nations at the same venue in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and claimed that the fixture is already hyped up with a sold-out crowd expected for the Group A clash.
"We did play India-Pakistan at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and we had a sell-out. Not only India-Pakistan, I just feel we really need to hype up the T20 World Cup. We don't need to hype up only one match. It is already hyped up. I am sure a lot of people are going to come and support us. Hopefully, we can put up a show for them," said Mandhana in a post-match press conference after the third T20I between India and England.
India's preperation for the mega event has been less than ideal as they aim to lift the tournament for the first time in history and build on the momemtum after the historic Women's World Cup 2025 triumph on home soil.
The women in blue lost the three-match T20I series to England, which was their final assignment before the Women's T20 World Cup 2026. India lost the series by a 2-1 margin despite taking a 1-0 lead after winning the series opener.
Earlier, the team suffered a 4-1 defeat to South Africa in a five-match series. However, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side secured a historic series victory on Australian soil by a 2-1 margin earlier this year. They had also beaten Sri Lanka 5-0 in a five-match series in December last year.
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Aayush Kataria is a Senior Copy Editor at Times Network with four years of experience, having started his career in the organisation. He is a key memb...View More
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