WPL 2023: Captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and costliest player in inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL 2023) auction, Smriti Mandhana, has reacted to comparisons with legend Virat Kohli.
Mandhana said she doesn't like her being compared with Virat as what the former India skipper has achieved in his career so far, she is not even close to that. Both Mandhana and Kohli wear number 18 jersey for India and franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Mandhana once revealed in an interview that a BCCI manager suggested her to wear jersey number 18 since her birthday is on 18th July and that she wasn't aware about Virat also using the number 18 jersey.
"I don't like the kind of comparison because what he (Kohli) has achieved is amazing. I just hope that I reach that level, but I'm nowhere near. What he has achieved for this franchise (Royal Challengers Bangalore), I would like to try and do that," Mandhana told reporters.
Virat Kohli and Smriti Mandhana starrer Bangalore-based franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is yet to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) title ever since the cash-rich T20 league came into existence.
The closest RCB ever got to win an IPL title was during the final of IPL 2016 where they yet again failed to lift the trophy after suffering 8-run defeat vs Kane Williamson's Sunrisers Hyderabad.
RCB were off to a poor start after suffering an embarrassing loss in their first-ever WPL match. Interestingly, RCB's men's team, way back in 2018, had also started their IPL journey with a loss.
Left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana emerged as most expensive player in WPL auction last month after RCB acquired her for Rs 3 crore 40 lakh.
Mandhana had entered the auction with a base price of Rs 50 lakh. Mandhana has so far played 116 T20Is for India, scoring 2802 runs at an average of 27.74 and a strike rate of 123.87, with 22 fifties.