Smriti Mandhana has become the only Indian sportsperson to feature in TIME magazine’s inaugural 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 list, released on June 9, 2026. The Indian women’s cricket vice-captain has been placed in the Titans category alongside global icons such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, and South Africa captain Temba Bavuma. The list, which groups honorees into four categories, recognises 100 athletes, executives, and leaders who are shaping the global sports landscape.
What Is the TIME100 Sports List?
TIME magazine, founded in 1923 by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, launched the TIME100 Sports list in 2026 as its first dedicated sports edition. This is an extension of the flagship TIME100 franchise, which began in 1999 and annually recognises the world’s most influential people across all fields.
The inaugural TIME100 Sports list honours individuals who are shaping the global sports landscape. It spans athletes, coaches, executives, owners, investors, advocates, and media personalities. The list was released in the June 22, 2026 issue of the magazine and is headlined by a cover story on four-time NBA champion LeBron James.
TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs noted that sports remain one of the last places where massive global audiences gather in real time, making athletes and sports figures uniquely influential across industries and cultures. To celebrate the list, TIME will host the first-ever TIME100 Sports Gala on July 16, 2026 in New York City.
The Four Categories
The inaugural TIME100 Sports list classifies its honorees into four distinct segments:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Sports executives, administrators, and policymakers driving institutional change |
| Icons | Legendary figures whose influence extends beyond their sport into culture |
| Innovators | Pioneers reshaping sports through technology, media, and new business models |
| Titans | Dominant athletes at the peak of their performance with global reach |
Smriti Mandhana finds herself in the Titans category, which features athletes who command the biggest stages in world sport. The category includes football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland, South Africa cricket captain Temba Bavuma, NBA players LeBron James and Stephen Curry, baseball star Shohei Ohtani, golfer Rory McIlroy, WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark, and tennis prodigy Carlos Alcaraz, among others.
Smriti Mandhana: A Record-Breaking Career
Born on July 18, 1996 in Mumbai, Smriti Mandhana made her international debut for India in 2013 at the age of 16. Over the past 13 years, she has established herself as one of the most accomplished batters in women’s cricket, accumulating more than 10,000 international runs across all formats.
Mandhana has set several records that defined her selection for this honour. She became the first Indian woman to score centuries in all three international formats (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is). She also became the first woman ever to cross 1,000 ODI runs in a single calendar year, a milestone that underscored her remarkable consistency.
In 2024, Mandhana amassed 1,659 international runs, breaking a 28-year-old record held by Australia’s Belinda Clark for the most international runs by a woman in a calendar year. She surpassed her own mark the following year in 2025. She is the joint record holder for the most international centuries in women’s cricket, with 17 hundreds to her name, a mark she shares with former Australia captain Meg Lanning.
Leadership and Team Success
Mandhana is equally celebrated for her leadership. She captains Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), leading the franchise to WPL titles in 2024 and 2026, the first trophies for RCB across both men’s and women’s cricket. She also served as vice-captain of the Indian team that won the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025, finishing as the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer.
Her team achievements include a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, and Asia Cup titles in 2016 and 2022.
Honours and Awards
Mandhana has received the Arjuna Award from the Government of India in 2019. She has won the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award twice (2018 and 2021) and the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year twice (2018 and 2024). She was named Wisden’s Leading Women’s Cricketer in the World in 2024, and received the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award for 2025. She was also named India’s Best International Cricketer (women) by the BCCI in 2018 and 2025.
Why This Recognition Matters
Mandhana’s inclusion in the inaugural TIME100 Sports list is significant on multiple levels. It signals the growing global recognition of women’s cricket, a sport that has seen a massive surge in viewership, sponsorship, and participation over the last decade. As the only Indian on the list, Mandhana’s presence highlights the rising stature of Indian women athletes on the world stage.
The recognition also reflects the expanding definition of influence in sports. TIME’s list goes beyond on-field performance to acknowledge athletes who shape culture, inspire communities, and drive commercial and social impact. Mandhana’s journey from Sangli to the global stage has inspired a generation of young girls to take up cricket, contributing to the deepening talent pool in Indian women’s cricket.
At a time when Indian sports is producing world-beaters across multiple disciplines, Mandhana’s place among the world’s 100 most influential sports figures serves as a marker of how far Indian women’s cricket has come since its early days.
Key Takeaways
- Smriti Mandhana is the only Indian sportsperson featured in TIME magazine’s inaugural 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 list.
- The list categorises honorees into four groups: Leaders, Icons, Innovators, and Titans.
- Mandhana was placed in the Titans category alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, and Temba Bavuma.
- She became the first Indian woman to score centuries in all three international formats (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is) and the first woman to cross 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year.
- Mandhana holds the joint record for most international centuries in women’s cricket (17) and set the record for most international runs by a woman in a calendar year (1,659 in 2024).
- She led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to WPL titles in 2024 and 2026 and was India’s vice-captain during the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup triumph.
