“… tell her I’m cheering for her too!”, Star batter Smriti Mandhana responds to young fan from Kashmir

Alfaaz – The Words Desk

Srinagar. Indian women’s cricketer Smriti Mandhana shared a message for a young fan from Kashmir after filmmaker Kabir Khan posted photographs from his recent visit to the Valley.

Khan, who was travelling through Aru Valley in Pahalgam Kashmir, met a young girl playing cricket who told him that Mandhana was her favourite player. He shared the images and a note on social media, describing the setting where local children play the sport amid natural surroundings.

Mandhana later noticed the post and responded on X with a message for the girl. She, as per Alfaaz – The Words, wrote, “Please give the little champ in Aru a big hug from me and tell her I’m cheering for her too.”

The response drew wide attention on social media.

In his post, Khan wrote about discovering such moments while photographing everyday life in Kashmir. He also referred to children playing cricket on improvised grounds shaped by natural features such as streams and mountain terrain.

Notably, Mandhana, a star batter of the Indian women’s team, today became only the second player after Suzie Bates of New Zealand to complete 4,000 runs in T20 Internationals. The milestone came during India’s first match against Sri Lanka, which India won by eight wickets.