Mandhana views England series as prep for the T20 World Cup

Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said the five-match T20I series against England would serve as crucial preparation for the T20 World Cup, set to be held in the same conditions next year. Mandhana believes it offers India a valuable opportunity to acclimatise to English conditions ahead of the marquee event.

"Since we have a T20 World Cup next year around the same time, around the summer of UK, which is again similar conditions, I'm sure the five T20Is will be a good prep for a lot of the girls and for us also to see to the conditions and how they suit our game too.”

One of the key challenges for this Indian side will be the relative inexperience of players touring England for the first time. Youngsters like Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani are set to make their debut on English soil, and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana believes that the extended preparation period in these conditions will be crucial in helping the entire squad adapt and perform well.

"It's been a good 25 days of prep, we had batters and bowlers camp at Bangalore at NCA and that was also very targeted and specific, keeping in mind this tour," Mandhana said.

"Of course, we came a little earlier here, good eight days of prep, a few good practice matches, we got to know a lot of things about the England conditions. For a lot of girls, it's their first England tour so it was important for them to come here early and get used to the conditions,"

Opener Smriti Mandhana was full of praise for her opening partner Shafali Verma, who had returned to the squad after a lean patch that had led to her omission from the T20I setup in late 2024. Shafali made a strong statement with the bat during the Women's Premier League (WPL), finishing as the fourth-highest run-scorer with 304 runs at a blistering strike rate of 152.76.

"She's had an amazing year. Once the setback had come, she went to domestic cricket, scored bucket-loads of runs and had an amazing WPL. No one had any doubts about her talent, the way she had come into the Indian team and dominated.” said Mandhana.

Shafali also enjoyed a dominant domestic season, emerging as the leading run-scorer in the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy with 527 runs at an average of 75.29, and topping the charts in the Senior Women’s One-Day Challenger Trophy as well, scoring 414 runs at an impressive average of 82.8.

“She is a world-class player and always will be, but for her to go back and do what she did in the last year was amazing to watch. She deserves this comeback and I'm really excited to open with her again."

Being one of the most experienced members of the Indian setup, Smriti Mandhana expressed her excitement about the new-look pace attack set to feature against England. With regulars Renuka Singh Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, and Titas Sadhu ruled out due to injury, the attack will be led by Arundathi Reddy. The responsibility of stepping up falls on Amanjot Kaur, Kranti Gaud, and Sayali Satghare, who will be eager to make their mark and fill some big shoes in the upcoming series.

"(We have) a new look pace-bowling unit because unfortunately, there are a few injuries which had happened over the last four to five months, but (it is) really exciting, I mean (the) WPL has been good in terms of finding new people and of course, the domestic system as well.

"The amount of matches the girls play nowadays - all these girls have a rich experience in the domestic format, so I'm really excited to see them.”