RCB captain Smriti Mandhana has failed to get going in WPL so far (PTI Image)
Following the poor results, Bangalore skipper Smriti Mandhana faced severe backlash online.
The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has not proved to be quite fruitful for Royal Challengers Bangalore so far. The Smriti Mandhana-led side has not tasted success yet after playing four matches in the WPL 2023. Bangalore’s poor performance on the field has saddened supporters of the franchise. In their latest assignment, RCB had to suffer a crushing 10-wicket defeat at the hands of UP Warriorz on Friday at the Brabourne Stadium.
Following the humiliating results, Bangalore skipper Mandhana faced severe backlash online. The India international has been subjected to social media trolling as well. Mandhana’s batting and leadership skills were severely criticised by fans.
A social media user criticised Mandhana’s leadership prowess and commented, “Smriti Mandhana is a very bad captain. There was no need to send Kanika Ahuja when you have Heather Knight and Erin Burns in the middle order.”
Smriti Mandhana is very bad captain. There was no need to send Kanika Ahuja when you have H Knight and Erin Burns in the middle order..— Reddy_®_Royce𓃵🇮🇳 (@FireRed_45) March 10, 2023
“3 cr, absolutely waste, Smriti Mandhana,” tweeted another person.
3 cr absolutely waste smriti mandhana 🙏🏽— Dan Appu (@DAN18VIRAT) March 10, 2023
“Captaincy is not everyone’s cup of tea. You can see it. The pressure of leading a big side in the biggest women’s tournament and then losing three in a row. Smriti Mandhana is not her normal self and it’s evident from her dismal batting performance,” tweeted one social media user.
Captaincy is not everyone’s cup of tea . U cn see it . The pressure of leading a big side in the biggest women’s tournament and then losing three in a row .Smriti Mandhana is not her normal self and it’s evident in her dismal batting performance.— Ashish (@ashishanya) March 10, 2023
However, a section of fans came out in support of the Mumbai-born cricketer.
“I’m devastated after seeing all these hate comments. How can anyone be so toxic,” wrote one Twitter user.
https://twitter.com/time__square/status/1634234721260691456?s=20
Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive cricketer after the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise had signed her for an amount of Rs 3.4 crore at the WPL auction.
After conceding four back-to-back defeats, Royal Challengers Bangalore are currently languishing at the bottom of the WPL 2023 points table. In terms of batting, the inaugural season of the WPL has not been memorable for Smriti Mandhana either. After playing four matches, she managed to score 80 runs. Mandhana’s highest score of 35 occurred during Bangalore’s first match of the competition against Delhi Capitals. In her last WPL appearance, Mandhana went back to the dressing room after scoring just four runs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, in their next match, will be taking on Delhi Capitals on Monday, March 13.
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