Smriti Mandhana revealed that MS Dhoni sent her a personal WhatsApp message after India's maiden Women's ODI World Cup triumph in 2025. The former India captain also explained why he chose to reach out to her.
India's historic Women's ODI World Cup triumph in 2025 was a landmark moment for Indian cricket. Despite suffering three consecutive defeats during the tournament, the Indian women's team fought back strongly to lift their maiden World Cup trophy, beating South Africa by 52 runs in the final.
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Almost a year after the historic victory, India women's team captain Smriti Mandhana has revealed a special gesture from former India captain MS Dhoni.
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Speaking at an event in Mumbai where both cricketers were present, Mandhana shared that Dhoni had personally congratulated her and asked her to convey his wishes to the entire team.
Mandhana said she was particularly happy to receive the message, knowing that Dhoni is not someone who frequently uses his phone.
"He (Dhoni) actually did send me a message after the World Cup win. I know he does not use his phone a lot. I was very happy that he used WhatsApp to congratulate all of us," said Mandhana.
"You saved the number?" asked presenter Harsha Bhogle to Mandhana.
"I did have his number," she replied.
The conversation took an interesting turn when presenter Harsha Bhogle asked Mandhana whether she had saved Dhoni's number.
Dhoni then explained why he had chosen to send the message to Mandhana. The former India captain revealed that she was the only member of the women's team whose contact number he had.
“I didn't know anyone else's (number) from the team. I wanted the message to go through. We had just shot (a commercial) before that. I thought, ‘Let me send a message to Smriti' and I mentioned, ‘Please wish everyone who is part of the team',” Dhoni said.
The 2011 World Cup-winning captain also spoke about the wider significance of India's achievement, saying the triumph could change the future of women's cricket in the country.
"I did not know anyone else from the team. I was like, 'the message to go through'. We had just shot (a commercial) before that. I thought, 'Let me send a message to Smriti' and I mentioned, 'Please wish everyone who is part of the team'," Dhoni noted, speaking at the same event.
"It's a big thing. It changes how Indian women's cricket moves forward. Not only that you've brought a big trophy for the country, but also the fact that these girls that day paved the way for future ladies on how they'd look at cricket and cricket as a profession," he added.
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India's road to the title was not straightforward. After three successive defeats, the team produced a remarkable turnaround to reach the final. In the semi-final, India defeated defending champions Australia by pulling off a record-breaking chase in women's ODI cricket at the time.
India then carried that momentum into the final against South Africa, winning by 52 runs to secure their first-ever Women's ODI World Cup title.
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