Key Highlights
- Smriti Mandhana becomes the first Indian athlete on the TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026.
- She is the only Indian woman to record centuries in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, and to post a domestic double‑hundred.
- Mandhana holds a joint record of 17 international centuries, the highest tally in women’s cricket.
- She captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two Women’s Premier League titles (2024, 2026) and served as India’s vice‑captain in the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup triumph.
Detailed Insights
TIME’s 2026 edition celebrates athletes whose actions reshape global sport. Smriti Mandhana joins an elite cohort that includes Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Carlos Alcaraz and Temba Bavuma. Her invitation signals the ascent of women’s cricket onto the world stage.
Mandhana’s statistical résumé underpins the honor. She was the first Indian woman to amass a double century in a domestic one‑day fixture and the pioneer to notch a hundred in each of the three international formats. Her 17‑century haul ties the all‑time women’s record, while she also became the inaugural female cricketer to exceed 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year (2023). In 2024 she logged the most aggregate international runs by any woman across formats in a single year, a benchmark she eclipsed again in 2025. Early 2026 saw her overtake all Indian players—male or female—to become the nation’s leading T20I run‑scorer.
Beyond batting, Mandhana’s leadership has been pivotal. As captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru she steered the franchise to two WPL championships, and as vice‑captain of the national side she contributed 434 runs to India’s victorious 2025 World Cup campaign. Her influence was further recognized with the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award in 2025.
Key Concepts
- TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports: An annual compilation by TIME magazine that highlights athletes, administrators and advocates shaping the future of sport worldwide.
- Double century (domestic one‑day): A personal score of 200 or more runs in a limited‑overs match played within a country’s domestic structure.
- Century across formats: Scoring 100 runs or more in Test, One Day International and Twenty‑20 International matches, demonstrating versatility.
- Women’s Premier League (WPL): The premier franchise‑based Twenty‑20 competition for women’s cricket in India.
- International run aggregate record: The total number of runs accumulated by a player across all international formats within a calendar year.