"I'm ready" – How Smriti Mandhana reinvented herself

On her way home from the UAE last October, Smriti Mandhana rang up her manager Tuhin Mishra seeking immediate support. The heartbreak of India's premature exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup had forced her to confront uncomfortable questions about what more she needed to do. Talent and experience alone weren't enough, she inferred.

Realizing her 'good' fitness wasn't good enough anymore, Mandhana sought a personal trainer from outside the cricketing ecosystem. Mishra promptly booked Srikanth Varma Madapalli, a Hyderabad-based strength & conditioning coach, a one-way ticket to Sangli – Mandhana's hometown.

In initial discussions, Srikanth warned his methods would be unlike anything she had experienced, but Mandhana remained determined not to let even the most brutal training regime hold her back. She had made up her mind to lead by example and script the turnaround in India's fortunes. What followed was a season of quiet reinvention for the Indian vice-captain, driven by the singular dream of lifting the World Cup on home soil.

"We had a frank chat to begin with. I told her my training would be high volume, high intensity. 'Will you be able to bear it?' It was a 'yes' straight off the bat from her side. The World Cup was her only focus. Smriti knew she'll have to work very hard. She wanted to be pushed, and she was all in from day one," Srikanth recalls.

Srikanth had previously served the Andhra Ranji Trophy team from 2007 to 2013 before transitioning to racquet sports, where he became PV Sindhu's personal trainer. Their six-year partnership saw the Olympian achieve her career peak with three consecutive World Championship podium finishes and Olympic bronze.

Day one was about individual assessment. Srikanth studied her strengths and weaknesses, examined muscle wear and tear from her decade-long career, and implemented scientific principles to customize a program for unprecedented consistency.

The first focus was muscle imbalances and posture correction, where Mandhana noted immediate results with increased mobility and improved range of motion – all pain-free. Srikanth then analyzed which muscles were being worked in batting, running, and fielding before designing strength-training routines for improved agility, sharper reflexes, and explosiveness.

Results appeared in less than two months. A brisk century in Australia last December, though in a losing cause, signaled the partnership's success.

"She took on even the most high-volume and high-risk workloads without complaints," Srikanth recalls. "Never once did she miss a session, never once did she use pain as an excuse. Her recovery was equally good. Even as we increased strength-training volumes, she'd ensure she came back well recovered for the next session."

Over the next three months, including Women's Premier League 2025, Srikanth traveled extensively as Mandhana's personal fitness coach. The management at Suchitra Academy made special provisions for him to be available to the Indian batter during her time-off, commercial commitments, or cricket assignments.

Mandhana invested in a nearly seven-acre land in Sangli, building her own state-of-the-art training facility-cum-farmhouse. The facility includes six batting wickets with red and black-soil pitches prepared by DY Patil stadium's curator, floodlights for night training, indoor nets, a well-equipped gym, swimming pool, ice-bath tub, and sauna.

In his room, childhood coach Anant Tambvekar shares there's a full-sized table-tennis table that Mandhana has put up. "She's dominating me like how she's hitting the bowlers nowadays, but I am ready to lose a hundred such matches if it helps India win," Tambvekar jokes.

"This shows her dedication. She knows what's important for developing her game. Rather than having luxurious hotels, she's invested in infrastructure that's more important to her game."

Mandhana's investment reflected both personal dedication and a broader moment in Indian women's cricket – a player from humble background injecting sufficient funds to take her game to the next level.

She also consulted a nutritionist, going off sugar for the past year. A personal chef accompanies her on tours because outside food isn't an option anymore. Her mother proactively looks after her dietary requirements.

The longest stretch Srikanth spent with the left-hander was a three-week off-season after WPL 2025 and before the Sri Lanka tri-series. To prepare for Colombo's hot conditions, new routines were introduced including barefoot sand-running in a 30-meter pit to strengthen ankles and toes, improving acceleration and running between wickets.

The results were impossible to ignore. Mandhana was India's top run-getter in the five-match ODI series with 264 runs at 52.80, including a century and fifty. That success filled Srikanth with confidence for the future.

He implemented recovery protocols for the UK tour in June. By now, after six months of training, Srikanth understood Mandhana's progression better and felt confident adopting training methods from other sports. The proof came with a maiden T20I century – a 62-ball 112 at Trent Bridge.

When turnaround times were shorter, injury prevention and faster recoveries became the focus. Srikanth manipulated sessions into pool-runs instead of heavy gym workloads when she reported stiffness. Underwater resistance running aided recovery without stressing muscle groups.

In the final approach to the home World Cup, Srikanth incorporated rigorous cross-training. "We worked on explosiveness with high-intensity workload – complex training, circuit training, restless exercises. You can say I almost killed her," he jokes before adding, "then we'd immediately switch to water-immersion recovery."

"It was highly demanding but Smriti powered through. She would always say, 'No, you push me harder'. I had complete freedom. She would never say no to anything; her answer was always 'I am ready'."

Srikanth calls Mandhana a 'stubborn athlete' – complimenting her single-mindedness and diligence. "She underwent painful training, refused to skip sessions. Even with stiffness or soreness, she wouldn't shy away. That's why I could bring out multiple peaks every series. She saw significant body transformation and is generating more batting force with increased explosiveness."

Mandhana pushed the envelope at the crease. She started the Australia series with a fifty, backed with 117 in the next match, then struck a 50-ball century in the third ODI – becoming India's fastest centurion in ODI history. Her expanded repertoire was on display, frequently stepping out to loft spinners and using slog-sweep effectively – both previously noticeable weaknesses.

"She was not a good sweeper before, but developed the slog-sweep to dominate spinners," Tambvekar says. "That confidence comes from improved strength over the last year. Srikanth worked on each aspect to help Smriti get the power to connect."

Tambvekar feels the combination of technique with power has transformed her into an unstoppable force. "The sixes are bigger now. Before, she barely hit 60-65 yards. Now the ball comfortably goes 70 yards, sometimes 80. Even mistimed ones reach the boundary. She always had skill and potential, but now she has fearlessness."

Less than 24 hours after rewriting history in Delhi, Mandhana summoned Tambvekar to Sangli for last-minute World Cup prep. He canceled his scouting assignment and holiday without second thoughts.

At the World Cup, India's first training session was washed out. The next day, Mandhana spent two hours batting before assisting struggling Jemimah Rodrigues in the nets – delaying but not skipping her evening gym session.

Her first century of the home World Cup came the next evening. The heartbreak of 2024 had forged an all-seasons batter. Mandhana carried India's batting with 434 runs at 54.25, playing a pivotal role in ending the country's trophy drought.

"We worked on every inch of her body," Srikanth says. "We discussed it would be a long-term program for sustained results. Smriti demanded the trainer keep her body active even after returning from tours. She didn't want to get lenient in off-season."

"As an S&C specialist, I'm happy to work with a high-quality athlete like her. What makes Smriti stand out is that even at 29, she didn't want time off. After the World Cup win, we implemented the transition phase. But she called three-four days later asking what I had planned next. I told her 'you've earned a break,' but she feels she got enough in the 10 days since."

Srikanth left for her Sangli farmhouse in mid-November, with Mandhana insisting on resuming routines despite her imminent wedding to Bollywood music composer Palash Muchhal. Amid celebrations and wedding countdown, Mandhana refuses to hit pause.