Smriti Mandhana Skips Kapil Sharma Show as Indian Women’s Cricket Team Celebrated

The Great Indian Kapil Show returns with a star-studded lineup, but the upcoming episode honoring the Indian women’s cricket team after their historic World Cup victory will see one notable absence: Smriti Mandhana.

The promo for the episode reveals that Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Harleen Deol, Radha Yadav, Pratika Rawal, and Head Coach Amol Mazumdar will appear, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their championship journey. Kapil Sharma humorously highlighted how Smriti played a key role in motivating Harmanpreet Kaur to perform bhangra during the celebrations. Jemimah Rodrigues recalled, “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” (Harry didi doesn’t listen to us anyway, but Smriti had said that if I didn’t do the bhangra, she wouldn’t speak to me for life).

The episode also touches on Pratika Rawal’s injury, with Kapil injecting his signature humor, teasing, “Haan toh gussa kyun kar rahi ho, maine toh aise hi poocha” (Why are you angry? I just asked casually). In another light-hearted segment, Kapil quizzed Renuka Singh about her ‘ideal boy’, adding to the show’s playful atmosphere.

The upcoming season arrives amid legal challenges. PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) recently filed a copyright infringement suit against the show, alleging unauthorized use of songs in three episodes and seeking action through the Bombay High Court, including revenue disclosure and seizure of the infringing content.

Fans can catch the women’s cricket team episode on Netflix on December 27 at 8 PM, featuring Sunil Grover and Krushna Abhishek as Karan and Arjun, along with Kiku Sharda’s Filmy Maa, promising the same chaos and laughter the show is known for.