Smriti Mandhana, Palash Muchhal’s wedding postponed after cricketer’s father falls ill

The wedding of star Indian women’s cricketer Smriti Mandhana and music composer Palash Muchhal has been postponed indefinitely after her father Shrinivas fell ill in the lead-up to the ceremony, which was scheduled to take place here on Sunday.

Mandhana is emotionally attached to her father, who has been a constant source of support in her cricketing journey. Tuhin Mishra, Mandhana's manager, said the World Cup-winning cricketer’s father suffered the health complication early on Sunday morning.

“Smriti’s father, Shrinivas Mandhana was having breakfast this morning, and his health started deteriorating. We waited thinking he would recover soon, but it didn’t improve. So we thought not to take any risk and called an ambulance, and he has been taken to the hospital. He is under observation,” said Mishra.

Considering her father’s health condition, Mishra said, Mandhana decided to postpone her wedding till he recovers.

“Smriti is very close to her father. So, she has decided to postpone the marriage, which was going to happen today, till her father is fine. The doctor has said he (Mandhana’s father) will have to be in the hospital for the time being. We are also in shock and hope that he recovers quickly because it’s a big occasion for everyone,” he added.

“So, Smriti is very clear, she wants her father to be okay first, and later she will get married. I would request you to respect the family’s privacy at this time,” said Mishra.

Mandhana’s family doctor Dr Naman Shah said a medical team is monitoring the health condition of her father.

“At around 1.30 pm, Srinivas Mandhana got left-sided chest pain, we call it ‘angina’ in medical terms. As the symptoms surfaced, his son called me, we sent an ambulance and he was shifted to the hospital. We found out in ECG and other reports that cardiac enzymes are elevated, hence we need to keep him in observation,” he told PTI.

“Blood Pressure is also elevated, efforts are on to lower it. The whole team is monitoring. If situation exacerbates, we will have to do angiography. Smriti and her family is in contact with us, hopefully he will be stable by tomorrow.”

Week-long celebrations were already going on in Sangli, her hometown, in Maharashtra ahead of the much-anticipated ceremony.