Smriti Mandhana named in TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026, only Indian on list

2 min readNew DelhiJun 16, 2026 02:15 PM IST

TIME praised Mandhana’s remarkable rise, noting that “records keep tumbling in” for the Mumbai-born opener.

India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has added another accolade to her growing list of achievements, becoming the only Indian athlete featured in TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026.

The annual list honours athletes, coaches, investors and advocates who are “shaping sports today.” This year’s edition is led by basketball great LeBron James and includes global sporting icons such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Alcaraz, Rory McIlroy, Eileen Gu, Victor Wembanyama, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

TIME praised Mandhana’s remarkable rise, noting that “records keep tumbling in” for the Mumbai-born opener. She has been placed in the ‘Titans’ category alongside Ronaldo, Erling Haaland and South African captain Temba Bavuma.

Among her many milestones, Mandhana became the first Indian woman to score a double century in a domestic one-day match and the first Indian batter to register centuries in all three international formats. She also shares the record for the most centuries in women’s international cricket, with 17 hundreds, and was the first woman to cross 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year.

Yet, according to TIME, the left-hander values team achievements above individual milestones. She led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to Women’s Premier League titles in 2024 and 2026 and played a pivotal role as India’s vice-captain during their triumphant ICC Women’s ODI World Cup campaign last year, finishing as the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer.

Her consistency has been equally impressive. Mandhana set a new benchmark for the most international runs scored by a woman across formats in 2024 and bettered that tally again in 2025, a run of performances that helped her earn the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award.