Smriti Mandhana enrolls for B Com course

India batter Smriti Mandhana has decided to pursue further education and has enrolled for B Com course at the Sanjay Ghodawat University in Kolhapur.

Mandhana, current vice-captain of the Indian side, made her international debut at the age of 16 and couldn’t study further although she joined a college for commerce after her 12^th due to hectic nature of her cricket and training schedules. After completing a decade in international cricket, the southpaw has finally decided to take the plunge and complete her graduation.

The left-handed opener made her India debut in Vadodara in 2013 against Bangladesh in T20Is and then went on to play all three formats. Mandhana has scored 6200 international runs with six centuries and 49 fifties to her name. She has also led India in 11 T20Is. She is also the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) that came into fruition in 2023 as a five-team event.

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“It is our pleasure that a reputed sports star has enrolled for a graduation course. We have always supported sporting activities and ensured that sportspersons fared well in academics too,” Sanjay Ghodawat, the chairman of the group of universities was quoted as saying by Times of India. “Recently, Aishwarya Jadhav, an under-18 tennis star who has played in Junior Wimbledon, took admission in our institution.”

“I felt a positive vibe after arriving on the campus. The university has all the sporting facilities I need. Therefore, it naturally becomes my first and the only choice for completing my education,” The 26-year-old Mandhana said in a statement.

Mandhana has represented India in 197 international matches across the three formats and has been part of the side that reached the finals of the ICC World Cup 2017, the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 and the Commonwealth Games 2022.