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With just a couple of days remaining for the third edition of the Women Premier League (WPL) in 2025, skipper of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Smriti Mandhana went back in 2023 when she was picked by the franchise in auction ahead of the inaugural season. In the latest Bold and Beyond podcast posted by RCB on their social media, Mandhana revealed how she was told to make instant connections with her teammates when she first joined the franchise.
After getting picked by RCB for a whopping ₹3.4 crore in the auction, Smriti Mandhana joined the RCB squad within three to four days for WPL 2023. “They never ever said that, ‘Oh, this is a women's team.’ They were clear that this is an RCB team and we will treat it as an RCB team. We just finished the auction and, in three days, we were playing for the franchise. So you somewhat don't connect because you're just playing in three days. But this side of the management made me feel that I really want to give back to the franchise and the management,” Mandhana said in a podcast.
The fans’ experience I started feeling it the second year: Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana was appointed as captain of RCB ahead of the WPL 2023. However, it wasn’t a memorable outing for RCB as they finished fourth in the points table. However, the tables turned for them in the very next year as they emerged as champions for the first time in 2024 as RCB finally won their maiden title across all competitions.
“Of course, the fans’ experience and all, I started feeling it the second year. But even from the first year, I started feeling that for the management because they created the whole environment around it. That was really cool,” Mandhana said.
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