India's women's cricket team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and Palash Muchhal have finally broken silence on their postponed wedding and confirmed it has been cancelled. Both took to Instagram stories to put an end to all the speculations that made headlines for the past week.
Fresh from winning the maiden ICC Women's World Cup at home on November 2, Mandhana and Palash were all set to marry in Sangli in Maharashtra on November 23. They duo also celebrated the pre-wedding rituals, with Mandhana's India teammates in attendance.
But on the wedding day, Mandhana's father, Srinivas Mandhana, had to be admitted to the hospital due to a heart attack. What followed was both Mandhana and Palash removing almost all their wedding and engagement-related post on social media.
In fact, Mandhana also deleted the proposal video by Palash shot at the DY Patil Stadium, which hosted the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 final. Much like Mandhana, her teammates who had joined her for the wedding, also deleted all the wedding-related posts from their respective social media handles, thus adding to the speculation pf Palash's alleged infidelity.
Was Jemimah's sudden withdrawal from WBBL a hint?
While the removal of wedding-related posts by Mandhana and her teammates gave everyone a hint, Jemimah Rodrigues' return from Australia midway into the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) added more fuel to the fire. Rodrigues played three matches for Brisbane Heat.
Rodrigues had flown to India after Brisbane Heat's match against Hobart Hurricanes. In what was believed to be her short trip to India, Rodrigues was scheduled to join her WBBL franchise in the last week of November.
But she requested a release from the franchise which they agreed without hesitation. “The Brisbane Heat have agreed to a request to release Jemimah Rodrigues from the remainder of the Women’s Big Bash League,” the franchise said in a statement on November 27.
"Rodrigues returned home to India after the Heat’s match against the Hobart Hurricanes 10 days ago as part of a pre-arranged commitment where she was to be involved in Indian teammate Smriti Mandhana’s wedding last weekend.
However, the celebrations were subsequently postponed due to a health issue with Mandhana’s father. Rodrigues will stay in India to support her teammate, and the Heat has agreed to her not returning for the final four games of the WBBL season," it further added. However, Rodrigues is yet to speak on the matter.
