Smriti Mandhana treasures time with family

Family-time is something cricketers get very less of. No wonder that Smriti Mandhana is cherishing every moment of the COVID-19 lockdown that is in place.



“I have been spending time with my family which I don't get often,” Mandhana told Cricket.com.



“Also, have been trying to help mom with cooking. I am watching movies and trying to connect with all my friends. I haven't actually started watching any series because it takes a lot of time. This is after so long I have got a chance to spend time with my family.”



While the initial lockdown was slated to be for 21 days, it was eventually extended due to the rising number of positive coronavirus cases. The players have now started training at home, based on the equipments they have at home.



“We were told to relax for two-three weeks but we didn't know it would extend this much,” she said. “When that break was done, we texted our trainers and told them what equipments we have at our home. They accordingly designed our routine based on the equipments and space we have at home.”



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Although Mandhana is content at being home, she was asked which team-mate she’d choose to be with during isolation.



“I think I am happy with my family only,” joked the southpaw. “I see my team-mates for eight to nine months a year!”



“Okay, I wouldn't pick just one. We have a small group of five people - me, Jemimah (Rodrigues), Arundhati (Reddy), Harleen (Deol) and Radha (Yadav). We together have a lot of fun on tours. It's not a "group group" but we are really comfortable with each other. We go for dinner together. Five of us in isolation would make a good company.”



In the light-hearted chat, she also revealed that she wouldn’t want to be quarantined alone with Rodrigues.



“I would like to have her with all these other girls, but single Jemi, no. Actually, I like her a lot and love spending time with her. There's not a single person in the team I would not like to isolate with. Even if I have just one company, we can chuck balls to each other even at home.”