On her way home from the UAE last October, Smriti Mandhana rang up her manager Tuhin Mishra seeking immediate support. The heartbreak of India's premature exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup had forced her to confront some uncomfortable questions about what more she needed to do and how much harder she could push. Talent and experience alone weren't enough, she inferred.

Realising that her 'good' fitness didn't seem good enough anymore, Mandhana sought a personal trainer from outside of the cricketing ecosystem. Mishra promptly booked Srikanth Varma Madapalli, a Hyderabad-based strength & conditioning coach, a one-way ticket to Sangli - Mandhana's hometown.

In their initial discussions, Srikanth warned his methods would be unlike anything she had previously experienced, but Mandhana remained determined not to let even the most brutal training regime hold her back. She had made up her mind - to lead by example and take charge of scripting the turnaround in India's fortunes that she'd long been waiting to see. What followed was a season of quiet reinvention for the Indian vice-captain, driven by the singular dream of lifting the World Cup on home soil in 12 months' time.

"We had a frank chat to begin with. I told her my training would be high volume, high intensity. 'Will you be able to bear it?' It was a 'yes' straight off the bat from her side. The World Cup was her only focus. Smriti knew she'll have to work very hard. She wanted to be pushed, and she was all in from day one," Srikanth recalls in a conversation with Cricbuzz.

Srikanth had previously dabbled in cricket, but it was in badminton where he had a proven record of shaping a national champion. After serving the Andhra Ranji Trophy team from 2007 to 2013, he transitioned to racquet sports and it was at the Suchitra Badminton Academy in Hyderabad that he became ace shuttler PV Sindhu's personal trainer. Their six-year partnership from 2017-23 saw the Olympian achieve her career peak, with three consecutive podium finishes at the World Championships (silver in 2017 and 2018, gold in 2019) followed by the bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Diving back into cricket required a significant shift for Srikanth as well, but Mandhana's dedication and discipline made the coach's task simpler.

Day one was all about individual assessment. Srikanth took note of her strengths and weaknesses, studied the muscles - the wear and tear on the body after a decade-long international career - and then implemented scientific principles to customise a program that helped Mandhana achieve an unprecedented consistency at the highest level.

The first focus was on muscle imbalances and posture correction, where Mandhana noted immediate results, increased mobility and an improved range of motions - crucially all of that pain-free. Srikanth then sat down to oversee a couple of skills sessions to analyse what muscles were being worked in batting, in running, and in fielding. His next task was to design strength-training routines to target improved agility, sharper reflexes and explosiveness on the field. The results were there to see in less than two months' time. A brisk century in Australia last December, albeit in a losing cause, was the first sign of the partnership's success for both of the parties.

"She took on even the most high-volume and high-risk workloads without any complaints," Srikanth recalls. "Never once did she miss a session, never once did she use pain as an excuse. I was myself [pleasantly] shocked. It helped that her approach was very positive and she was very determined. Her recovery was also equally good. Even as we gradually increased the strength-training volumes, she'd ensure she comes back well recovered and in the right mindset for the next session."

Over the next three months, including the Women's Premier League 2025, Srikanth travelled extensively as Mandhana's personal fitness coach on tour. It required a bit of juggling with his regular clientele in Hyderabad, including tennis star Ramkumar Ramanathan. The management at Suchitra Academy made special provisions for him to be available to the Indian batter - be it a quick trip to Sangli during her time-off, or Mumbai in between commercial commitments, or during cricket assignments. Srikanth himself poured all his experience in designing and customising her sessions on the go smartly to prevent overexertion of any muscle group.

Mandhana, too, left nothing on the table. Out of her own pocket, she invested in a nearly seven-acre land in Sangli, building her own state-of-the-art training facility-cum-farmhouse at the start of this year. There are six batting wickets, with a mix of red and black-soil pitches of different nature, prepared by the DY Patil stadium's curator. There's provision for floodlights to train at night, indoor nets, a well-equipped gym, a swimming pool, an ice-bath tub, and a sauna among other facilities, besides rooms for Srikanth and Anant Tambvekar, her childhood coach.

In his room, Tambvekar shares, is a full-sized table-tennis table that Mandhana has put up, for the student has now become the master. "She's dominating me like how she's hitting the bowlers now-a-days, but I am ready to lose a hundred such matches, truth be told, if it helps India win," Tambvekar jokes.

"But, this just shows her dedication. She knows what is important for her and for developing her game. So, rather than having a luxurious hotel or a luxurious home, she's invested in having luxurious infrastructure that's more important to her game."

As much as the investment was a reflection of Mandhana's personal dedication to her craft, it also reflected a broader moment in women's cricket in India. Here was a player from a humble, middle-class background, able to inject sufficient funds into her own game to take it to the next level. India's top women players had officially caught up with their main rivals in terms of investment in preparation, and it would show in the result of the World Cup.

Mandhana's investment in herself went further, too. She also consulted a nutritionist, and has gone off sugar for the last one year. A personal chef accompanies her on tours because outside food is not an option anymore. Her mother proactively looks after her dietary requirements, which is as important to Mandhana now as the training regimen she follows to the 'T'.

The longest stretch Srikanth spent with the left-hander was a three-week off-season after the end of WPL 2025, and before the tri-series in Sri Lanka in May. To prepare for the hot and humid Colombo conditions, new routines and techniques were researched and introduced. Srikanth asked to create a 30-metre sand pit; Mandhanas obliged, and the southpaw's training now included barefoot sand-running. The repeated runs were aimed at strengthening the grip of her ankles and toes. It helped improve her acceleration and, eventually, running between the wickets. The results were impossible to ignore. Mandhana was India's top run-getter in the five-match ODI series with a tally of 264 runs at 52.80, a century and a fifty included, to overwrite the forgettable 2022 trip. That success, to Srikanth, filled him with all the more confidence for the future.

He implemented recovery protocols immediately upon return to prevent muscle breakdown, with the next tour scheduled in the cool climes of the UK in June. By now, in over six months of training, Srikanth was understanding Mandhana's progression better than ever before, and therefore felt more confident in adopting training methods from other sports as well. The strength-training workloads were appropriately customised, aimed at ensuring a longer stay in the middle for the India opener. Once more, the proof was in that maiden T20I century - a 62-ball 112 at Trent Bridge - to kick off another successful white-ball tour.

When there were shorter turnaround times, injury prevention and faster recoveries became the focus. Srikanth recalls manipulating the sessions into a pool-run, instead of a heavy workload at the gym, in case she reported stiffness. A 20-minute run in hip-level water or under-water resistance running aided in better flow recovery without stressing out a lot of muscle groups. Once she reported feeling better in their daily check-ins, the program switched back to high-volume training that would range from interval training on the treadmill, interval rowing, or high-intensity spin wearing a mask. All of this while also ensuring no flare-ups in her left leg, which has a history of ACL trouble.

In the final approach to the home World Cup, ahead of the ODI series against Australia, Srikanth incorporated lots of rigorous cross-training into her program. "We wanted to work on the explosiveness, and I accordingly implemented a high-intensity workload. My word for it would be complex training. A lot of circuit training, restless exercises, and repetitions I gave her. You can say I almost killed her," he jokes before quickly adding, "and then we'll immediately switch to water-immersion recovery.

"It was highly demanding but Smriti powered through. She would always say, 'No, you push me harder'. I had complete freedom, and no restrictions. She would never say no to anything; her answer was always 'I am ready'."

Srikanth liberally uses the term 'stubborn athlete' for Mandhana, sometimes to compliment her single-mindedness in chasing the goal she set for herself, and other times to laud the diligence she showed behind the scenes.

"She underwent painful training, and refused to skip a single session. Even if the body was stiff or sore, she would not shy away. That's why I was able to bring out multiple peaks [every series] in the year. She adjusted and adapted a lot, just for her goal. She ultimately saw a lot of changes, a lot of body transformation, and that to me is success. She is generating more batting force, you could see increased explosiveness."

Sure enough, Mandhana pushed the envelope at the crease. She started the series against Australia with a fifty, backed it up with 117 in the next match, and then struck a 50-ball century in the third ODI, making her the fastest centurion in India's ODI history - men or women. The newly-expanded repertoire of shots was on ample display in that innings in Delhi, especially as she stepped out frequently to loft spinners over their head, and used the slog-sweep to good effect. Both shots had been a noticeable weakness in her game until a year ago. The boundary percentage, overall, has risen significantly.

"She was not a good sweeper of the ball before, but she developed a shot like the slog-sweep a few months ago where she can dominate the spinners even though they are putting the balls in the strong zones," Tambvekar tells Cricbuzz.

"That confidence to clear the field is coming from her improved strength over the last one year, and then you won't think of who is the bowler or what are the areas the bowler is hitting. [Srikanth is] involved in a game of racquet, so he understands each and every muscle in the hand and the body. Though badminton is one of the fastest games in terms of decision-making, you need so much strength in your arms. He started working on Smriti with the same approach, because she too had to be very strong in her fingers, wrists, biceps, forearms - everything. So he started working on each aspect which has helped Smriti to get the power to connect."

That potent combination of technique with brute power has transformed his ward into an unstoppable force, Tambvekar feels.

"If you see, the sixes are also getting bigger now. Before, she could barely hit sixes [at] 60-65 yards. Now, the ball is comfortably going 70 yards, sometimes 80, sometimes it's in the stands. Even the mistimed ones are reaching the boundary. She always had the skill and the potential, but now she has the fearlessness. She's worked exceptionally hard to build that strength, and that's helping her achieve the consistency levels she always strives for."

Less than 24 hours after rewriting the history books in Delhi, Mandhana summoned Tambvekar to Sangli for last-minute World Cup prep. He had just left for the Uttarakhand Premier League in Dehradun on a scouting assignment, for the Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after which he had a short holiday in Manipur planned. Her coach since Mandhana was 12, Tambvekar gave up both without second thoughts.

The left-handed batter herself had reached her hometown in the morning, following a shoot. But she powered through a sharp training session in the afternoon, and by evening was already primed for the skills session with Tambvekar.

At the World Cup, India's first training session in Navi Mumbai ahead of a virtual knockout against New Zealand was washed out. The following day, on a hot and muggy afternoon before the key clash, Mandhana spent two hours batting before assisting and comforting a struggling Jemimah Rodrigues in the nets - delaying but not skipping her evening training at the DY Patil Stadium gym.

Her first century of the home World Cup - and fifth in the calendar year - came the next evening. The heartbreak of 2024 had led to something far greater than redemption. It had forged an all-seasons batter. Mandhana carried India's batting charge in the tournament with 434 runs at 54.25, playing a pivotal role in ending the country's trophy drought.

"We worked on every inch of her body," Srikanth says. "We had already discussed it was going to be a long-term programme to ensure sustained results. Smriti herself demanded that the trainer should keep her body active and busy even after returning from a tour. She didn't want to get lenient in the off-season.

"As an S&C performance specialist, I am very happy to work with a high-quality athlete like her. What makes Smriti stand out from others is that, even at 29, she didn't want any time off. After the World Cup win, we had to implement what we call the transition phase. But she called three-four days later asking what I had planned for her next. I tried telling her 'you've earned a break', but she feels she's got enough of it in the 10 days since."

Srikanth left for her Sangli farmhouse in the middle of November, with Mandhana insisting on resuming her routines despite her imminent nuptials. Mandhana was due to marry her long-term boyfriend Palash Muchhal, the Bollywood music composer and filmmaker, at the farmhouse a week later. But amongst the whirlwind of celebrations and felicitations, and the wedding countdown, Mandhana refuses to hit pause.