Smriti Mandhana was named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2025 at a glittering ceremony in New Delhi, recognizing her extraordinary contributions to a landmark year for women’s cricket that included India’s historic Women’s World Cup triumph and her second WPL title as captain.
Mandhana, 29, beat teammate and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, chess sensation Divya Deshmukh, shooter Suruchi Singh and hurdler Jyothi Yarraji to claim the prestigious honour. The winners were decided by a distinguished grand jury comprising tennis legend Leander Paes, Paralympic champion Deepa Malik and athletics icon Anju Bobby George.
Unable to attend the ceremony in person as she is currently touring Australia with the Indian team for a multi-format bilateral series, Mandhana delivered her acceptance through a heartfelt video message. “Thank you, BBC, for giving me the award for Best Sportswoman of the Year. 2025 was a special year for women’s cricket. Towards the end, we had a World Cup, and I’m happy I could contribute and help India win matches,” she said.
The Sangli-born batter, inspired by her father and brother who both played district-level cricket, has firmly cemented her legacy as one of the all-time greats. She currently ranks second for most ODI centuries in women’s cricket and third among all-time run-scorers.
In other awards, Divya Deshmukh claimed the Emerging Player of the Year award following her historic FIDE Women’s World Cup triumph, while Preethi Pal was honoured as Para-Sportswoman of the Year for winning two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Pioneer shooter Anjali Bhagwat received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her trailblazing career as India’s first woman shooter to reach an Olympic final.
The Indian Women’s Cricket Team, Indian Women’s Cricket Team for the Blind, and Indian Women’s Kabaddi Team were collectively honoured as BBC Star Performers of the Year for their respective World Cup victories.
