In our society, there is a tendency to measure women’s accomplishments against those of men, thereby undermining the value of their achievements. This tendency is glaringly evident in sports, where women’s teams, such as cricket and football, are incessantly juxtaposed with their male counterparts. Despite their remarkable skill, dedication, and resilience, women athletes frequently find their accomplishments overshadowed by comparisons to men that detract from the recognition women rightfully deserve. Here’s an example.
Smriti Mandhana is an Indian cricketer who represents the Indian women’s national team. She plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Women’s Premier League. Under her captaincy, RCB won their maiden WPL title this year – a feat which hasn’t been achieved by the men’s RCB team in the history of IPL. Hence, it was a given that this topic would be brought up during Smriti Mandhana’s interaction with the press.
Coincidentally, Smriti Mandhana wears jersey number 18, the same as Virat Kohli. During a press meet, this was brought up by a journalist who said, “You just won the title, the other number 18 is waiting.”
Visibly disappointed by this answer, Smriti went on to gracefully respond, “As I said earlier, title is one thing, but jo dusre No. 18 ne achieve kiya hai India k liye (but what the other No. 18 has achieved for India), that is huge. So I don’t think the comparison is right in terms of where my career is and what he has already achieved. I don’t like comparison because what he has achieved is really great, and he has been an inspirational person. The title doesn’t define a lot of things. We all respect him, and the respect in Indian cricket should be right up there for Virat. I wouldn’t term it as 18-18, it’s nothing but an inspiration. Jersey number is just a personal choice. It doesn’t define how he plays cricket or how I play cricket. He has been an inspiration in a lot of aspects for us.”
Here’s a look at the video:
Journalism is a joke in this country. So much respect for smriti for handling this with utmost grace pic.twitter.com/7drWxuYhfy
— Priyam ~ family man era (@priyam1_raj) March 19, 2024
People online sided with her and expressed how journalists, in their attempt to grab sensationalizing headlines, place importance on the most insignificant things. This particular journalist in question not only undermines Smriti’s achievements but also does the same to those of Virat’s. Here’s how people responded to the video:
The instant expression on her face shows how tired she is with all the nonsense that goes around. 95% of sports journalists in this country are clowns of the highest order. https://t.co/iSRspdSU58
— Jaanvi🏏 (@that_shutterbug) March 19, 2024
Do journalists lose their ability to understand someone's body language? She's so done with this question, felt disgusted half way through it. What's wrong with these people? https://t.co/keWTMKnNX7
— Sam (@1705Sam) March 19, 2024
imagine winning the tournament and being asked about how other player with the same jersey number is yet to achieve that
🚶♀️🚶♀️🚶♀️ https://t.co/Ckfw9yRwhl
— мαιтнιℓι ♡´ (@VibhuTweety) March 19, 2024
Y'all should be ashamed, that girl just won the first trophy for this franchise but tumko virat virat ki chalisa padni hai https://t.co/42lycU5Stt
— Dilli winter soldier (@nainparii) March 19, 2024
The people and media just can't have a conversation about cricket without kohli's name coming up. This obsession is toxic. I'm sure kohli himself would be embarrassed by this, let alone smriti mandhana here. https://t.co/9vbHQ5nzId
— Bluekrait94 (@Bluekrait94) March 19, 2024
She herself is soo done with these questions!
Why can't our country's journalists understand the simple thing that Virat is a legend and he has earned the respect of everyone in the cricket fraternity.
They just don't leave a chance to try to degrade him but at last, they fail! https://t.co/IzY3GI50qr— Riddhi (@riddhi__2005) March 19, 2024
This response from Smriti is just class. The sports journalists have one chance to ask the question and they ask such lame questions. https://t.co/5myRxZgyTp
— Ripson Lobo (@Ripsylobo12) March 19, 2024
smriti is too nice i would've snatched that mic and put it in his mouth. imagine doing all the hardwork to win a trophy but the only thing the media keeps on asking u about is a male cricketer bc of a fucking jersey number. https://t.co/JI4MN7AdGs
— Litchflight (@_astrrrid) March 19, 2024
Do you think this was the right question to ask the cricketer?