Anjum Chopra criticizes Smriti Mandhana. Image Credits: AFP
Former Indian cricketer Anjum Chopra unleashed criticism on Smriti Mandhana after her 9-run knock against Pakistan Women in the recent Women’s Asia Cup clash held in Dubai. Her criticism came after India actually won the game comfortably.
The infamous Indo-Pak rivalry took place in Dubai last week, where India Women clashed with Pakistan Women in an Asia Cup group stage game. Pakistan struggled badly with the bat and were bowled out for just 55, their lowest-ever total in women’s T20I cricket.
Smriti Mandhana’s poor knock vs Pakistan
Because India needed only 56 runs to win, the chase appeared to be a formality. However, India did lose three wickets early. Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana all fell, leaving India at 29/3.
Mandhana had an unusually poor outing as she could score only 9 runs off 11 balls before being dismissed by Pakistan captain Fatima Sana. But her dismissal was interesting because she had already survived a major scare.
When Mandhana first came to the crease, Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal beat her outside the off stump. There was a clear sound as the ball passed the bat, and Pakistan appealed for caught behind.
The umpire rejected the appeal while Mandhana apparently believed she was out and had almost started walking back, but she was allowed to continue.
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Anjum Chopra criticises Mandhana
Meanwhile, during a live broadcast, former cricketer Anjum Chopra questioned India's batting despite the comfortable victory. She lashed out at Smriti, claiming that there was a clear edge that umpires failed to pick up.
“Actually, the player who scored a century in the last match (Mandhana) was given out on the first ball in this one. It’s a different matter that the umpire didn’t hear it, but we certainly did because we have the stump mic audio in our commentary box," Chopra said.
According to Chopra, a batter who scored a century in the previous game had in fact thrown her wicket away on the very first ball in a nothing run-chase, and that’s a shambolic incident.
Anjum Chopra later questioned why India Women needed their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to step up and score in a run chase every time.
“Anyway, leaving that aside, even after that she was scoring runs, and then she got out. Shafali Verma got out. And we’re only saying this because when you’re chasing just 56 runs, and you lose your top three wickets. Again, you needed the captain to score runs," she added.
Was Smriti Mandhana’s criticism justifiable?
Having said that, the fans have reacted strongly to Anjum Chopra’s remarks, calling it ‘unnecessary criticism.’ Their argument stemmed from the fact that Smriti Mandhana had just produced a match-winning 124 in the previous game against Hong Kong.
Moreover, despite her failure against Pakistan Women, India won comfortably as middle-order batters stepped up. Hence, fans feel one failure doesn't suddenly make a world-class batter a problem.
Smriti Mandhana has unarguably been India’s best batter in recent times, and her form will be crucial in deciding what course the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 tournament takes.
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