Don’t Love Anything More Than Cricket: Smriti Mandhana's First Reaction After Palaash Muchhal Break Up

Smriti Mandhana's personal life has been under scrutiny ever since her November 23 wedding with Palaash Muchhal was postponed last minute. While speculations rose over what could have led to the sudden postponement of the planned marriage, the former couple announced that they have called off their nuptials and have now split up. Smriti was supposed to join the World Cup winning team India on a special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 17, but she decided to skip it and avoided public appearances.

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On Wednesday (December 10), Smriti made her first public appearance since calling off her wedding with Palaash. At an event in Delhi, she was joined by teammate Harmanpreet Kaur and host Mandira Bedi. Speaking about her current priorities, Smriti said that she is solely focussed on her game right now.    

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"I don't think I love anything in life more than cricket. When you go out to bat or represent your country, if any other thoughts are in your mind, when you put on that jersey the only thing you want to do is represent India and win that match. The biggest motivation is when you put on that jersey and India is written on that. When you put on that jersey you keep all your problems aside and just be on the field because you have a responsibility. You are one of 2 billion people representing your country and that is enough for you to have that razor sharp focus and do what you want to do," Smriti shared.

Smriti and Palaash hosted their pre-wedding functions in Sangli, Maharashtra. The celebrations were joined by Smriti's cricket mates. However, on the eve of the planned wedding, Smriti's father Shrinivas Mandhana fell ill after experiencing "heart attack like symptoms" and was hospitalised. While the couple immediately put their wedding on hold, unverified social media posts circulating on Reddit hinted that Palaash had allegedly cheated on Smriti. Later, when Palaash released a statement confirming that his wedding was cancelled, he claimed that he would take legal action of those spreading "baseless rumours" about him. The former couple has now unfollowed each other on Instagram and deleted all their couple's photos.