Harman, Smriti, and a whole lot of banter ahead of WPL opener India’s captain and vice-captain on opposite ends.
Harman, Smriti and banter at the scene of the World Cup win.
Following India’s historic ODI World Cup victory in November, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana had the time of their life at the DY Patil Stadium. They joked about at the press conference while facing off as leaders of the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the WPL 2026 inaugural game at the same location.
The two sat next to each other with the WPL trophy by their sides even before the press conference officially started. The room erupted in laughter as they fiddled with their phones and whispered to each other until the mics were turned on and their voices were magnified.
After winning the World Cup and serving as India’s captain and vice-captain for years, the issue that naturally arose was if it was hard to put friendship aside and compete against one another.
“I think we are professional enough whenever we are on the field, we know why we are there and what is our role,” Harmanpreet said. “Off the field, I’m happy that I have a great relationship and friendship with her. We enjoy each other’s company off the field and even on the field. But WPL is very exciting for all of us. Whenever we are on the field we only think one thing, which is how we can win against each other and I think that is something we’ll carry to the ground.”
Mandhana was quick to interject: “Not bad to win matches against your friends! I hope she does well but we win. “We don’t get time to speak about WPL,” Mandhana added. “But when we step on the field, the banter is always going to be there, be it [during] Big Bash or the Hundred as well.”
For Harmanpreet, the WPL is a chance to play with freedom. “I think as a batter I want to bat freely because this is the only platform where I don’t put a lot of pressure on me because this is something where I can execute myself however I want. It’s a very important tournament for me and I just want to contribute for my team as much as I can.”
Would Mandhana also look to work on her bowling, especially with Anya Shrubsole as the bowling coach? “I think Anya will kill me if I tell her to work on my bowling,” she said, laughing. “That’s a lot of work to do, but I am really happy that a lot of Indian girls are going to get to work with her and pick her brain on how they can get better. My bowling, I don’t think that’s something anyone has told me… but if it comes from the top management I have to start working on it.”