Smriti Mandhana harassed on Live TV? RCB captain angry at cameraperson for invading personal space

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana got annoyed during practice ahead of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 opener against Mumbai Indians (MI). A cameraperson interrupted the training session on the field, which irritated Mandhana, and the video went viral on social media.

The WPL 2026 began with a much-awaited match between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. RCB defeated Mumbai, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, by three wickets at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Friday. Nadine de Klerk played a key role with both bat and ball in the season opener.

Smriti Mandhana Irritated by Cameraperson Ahead of WPL 2026 Opener

Smriti Mandhana was training on the ground and facing throwdowns when a cameraperson walked very close to her. The interruption broke her focus during practice and clearly irritated her. The moment was captured on video and soon went viral on social media.

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Later in the match, Mandhana could not make a big score and managed 18 runs from 13 balls. The left-handed batter added a 40-run partnership off 23 balls for the first wicket with Grace Harris while chasing a target of 155 runs.

Watch the video of the same posted by a user on X (formerly known as Twitter) below:

Cameraman not leaving Smrithi alone to practice and see Smrithi’s reaction 😂 pic.twitter.com/QVF8q4WTzw

— RCB (@RCBtweetzz) January 9, 2026

We Were On the Receiving End of These Matches - Smriti Mandhana

After the victory, Smriti Mandhana said she was pleased to see her team come out on top in a tight game. She pointed out that RCB often play thrilling matches and said it felt good to win one after losing similar close contests last season.

"I think for the first match of the WPL, it was a thriller. And RCB are known to play thrillers. Last year, we were on the receiving end of these matches, so happy that we pulled it off," Smriti said during the post-match presentation.

"Brilliant from Nadine to finish the match like that. Everyone was pretty positive. We were having a laugh. Even when things were not going well, everyone was pretty positive," she added.

Nadine de Klerk Played That Innings Against Us - Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana spoke about Nadine de Klerk’s past record of changing games under pressure. She recalled South Africa’s World Cup match in Visakhapatnam, where Nadine scored an unbeaten 84 after her team slipped to 142 for 6 while chasing a target of around 250 against India.

Mandhana said RCB thought about that same ability when Nadine got a second chance after a dropped catch by Nat Sciver-Brunt. The skipper explained that the team hoped Nadine would make the most of the opportunity, and she did exactly that by hitting key sixes.

"Yeah, we saw that in Visakhapatnam when she played that innings against us (during the World Cup). And I was just telling our head coach, Malolan, that I think we were in a similar situation against South Africa in the World Cup match, and she pulled it off. And I think when she got dropped, we just said that when we dropped, Sajana got runs - let us hope she gets two sixes. And she actually got them," she added.

Also read: RCB in panic mode as star all-rounder ruled out of cricket