New Delhi: 2021 was a dreamy year for India’s Women Team opener Smriti Mandhana as she gave some of her commendable performances throughout. To honour her achievements, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced Smriti Mandhana as the winner of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.
Smriti in 2021 scored 855 runs in 22 international matches which included a century and five half-centuries with an average of 38.86. Mandhana has also been a part of the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year as she has bagged the highest score in the shortest format, scoring 255 runs at an average of 31.87 and a strike rate of 131.44 that included two fifties from nine games. Reportedly, she is the only Indian to be included in the list.
Social media created a buzz on the achievement of the 25-year-old. The whole cricket fraternity flooded Twitter with congratulatory wishes and messages. Here are some of the heartwarming wishes from her well-wishers:
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Heartiest Congratulations to #TeamIndia‘s @mandhana_smriti who wins the ICC Women’s Cricketer of The Year 2021. ? ? pic.twitter.com/ePsRgXcolA
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) January 24, 2022
Southpaw Singappen ? Super Whistles to you for winning the @ICC women’s cricketer of the year award, @mandhana_smriti ?#WhistlePodu ?
? @BCCI pic.twitter.com/W6ycp8xmFY— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P?du Whistle P?du! (@ChennaiIPL) January 24, 2022
??? congratulations to @mandhana_smriti on winning the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the year. What a ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/zSMif508Ro
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) January 24, 2022
Congratulations @mandhana_smriti on the ICC Best Cricketer award. I hope there are many more on the way. And that many more girls are inspired by this to take up cricket
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 24, 2022
Amazing achievement @mandhana_smriti. You are a brilliant cricketer and I wish you a lot of success for future.
— Mayank Agarwal (@mayankcricket) January 24, 2022
A year to remember ?
Smriti Mandhana’s quality at the top of the order was on full display in 2021 ?
More on her exploits ? https://t.co/QI8Blxf0O5 pic.twitter.com/3jRjuzIxiT
— ICC (@ICC) January 24, 2022
Congratulations @mandhana_smriti ???. Great reward for some wonderful performances and such a big boost for the @BCCIWomen cricket. Onwards and upwards? #ICCAwards2021
— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) January 24, 2022
ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year. ?
Take a bow, @mandhana_smriti! ?
?: @BCCI #ICCAwards2021 #SmritiMandhana #Cricket pic.twitter.com/C70O5vlvTk
— Lucknow Super Giants (@TeamLucknowIPL) January 24, 2022
Congratulations to @mandhana_smriti who played bold and won the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award for 2021! ????
We’re extremely proud of you, Smriti! ?#PlayBold #TeamIndia #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/4YPq0HcoFa
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) January 24, 2022
Smriti Diiiiii ??@mandhana_smriti
— Riyan Parag (@ParagRiyan) January 24, 2022
CONGRATS, SMRITI!
From scoring the first pink-ball ton for the Indian women’s team to being part of the iconic team that ended Australia’s winning streak and many such iconic moments! #TeamUPCA Wishes Smriti Mandhana for winning this prestigious award.#UnstoppableUP #UPCA pic.twitter.com/xptENg8EEp— UPCA (@UPCACricket) January 24, 2022
Such a class act. Deserved winnner after an outstanding year in all three formats. And a big moment for the country.
Indian women who have been ICC Cricketer of the Year:
Jhulan Goswami- 2007
Smriti Mandhana- 2018
Smriti Mandhana- 2021 https://t.co/tprVmvLyjW— Snehal Pradhan #MaskUp (@SnehalPradhan) January 24, 2022
Notably, this is the second time Mandhana has been awarded Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy after 2018.
