When India’s women lifted the World Cup trophy last month, the country erupted in cheers. Firecrackers popped, bhangra beats played, and social media turned into one long celebration. Now, the victory party is moving to television straight to The Great Indian Kapil Show. Comedian Kapil Sharma is all ready to host the champions for a fun-filled episode. But even before the Kapil Sharma episode airs, a small detail in the promo has set tongues wagging: Smriti Mandhana is nowhere to be seen.
A star-studded celebration on Kapil’s stage
The upcoming episode will feature some of the brightest faces of Indian women’s cricket. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur will be there, along with Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Harleen Deol, Radha Yadav, and Pratika Rawal. Even head coach Amol Mazumdar joins the party.
In the promo, Kapil can be seen teasing captain Harmanpreet about the energetic bhangra moves she showed while lifting the World Cup trophy.
That’s when Jemimah Rodrigues jumped in with a fun confession. She revealed that Harmanpreet didn’t really listen to the team when it came to dancing but one person could convince her.
“Harry didi hum logon ki baat nahi sunti hai. Par Smriti ne bola tha ki agar bhangra nahi kiya toh main baat nahi karungi life bhar,” Jemimah joked.
Translation? Smriti Mandhana apparently threatened friendly silence if Harmanpreet didn’t dance. And that, Jemimah suggested, did the trick.
Laughter, leg pulling and Kapil’s classic mischief
The jokes didn’t stop there. Kapil also asked Pratika Rawal about an injury linked to Shafali Verma. When Pratika replied with a serious face, Kapil instantly turned it into comedy.
“Haan toh gussa kyun kar rahi ho, maine toh aise hi poocha,” he laughed.
Later, Kapil slipped into his favourite role: matchmaker. He playfully questioned Renuka Singh about her “ideal boy”.
The episode is scheduled to stream on December 27.
The big question: Where is Smriti Mandhana?
While the Kapil Sharma show promo is full of fun, viewers were quick to notice one big absence: Smriti Mandhana. Earlier this month, Smriti confirmed that her wedding with music composer Palash Muchhal had been called off. She addressed the rumours directly on Instagram asking for privacy and space for both families.
“I am a very private person… the wedding is called off. I request you to respect the privacy of both families and allow us the space to process and move on,” she wrote.
Palash also shared his own statement, saying he had decided to move on and step back from the relationship.
The couple was reportedly set to marry in Sangli, Smriti’s hometown, on November 23. The Kapil Sharma episode was shot when the wedding preparations were going on full swing.