It has been a tumultuous few days in the life of Indian women’s cricket team star Smriti Mandhana, as illnesses to both her father and her fiance have seen her high-profile wedding ceremony abruptly cut short. Mandhana’s father, Shrinivas Mandhana, was admitted to a hospital after falling ill ahead of the ceremony on Sunday. While Mandhana decided to halt all wedding proceedings then and there, her fiance, Palash Muchhal, also had to be taken to hospital after a deterioration in his health.
Here is a timeline of all the events that have unravelled over the last two days, leading to the sudden postponement of Smriti Mandhana’s wedding with Palash Muchhal.
Smriti Mandhana’s father falls ill; wedding postponed
On Sunday afternoon, amidst ongoing wedding festivities in the Sangli district of Maharashtra, it was learnt that a close family member of Mandhana’s had been hospitalised. Soon after, it was confirmed by Mandhana’s business manager, Tuhin Mishra, that her father had taken ill.
Mishra clarified that it was Mandhana’s decision to postpone proceedings and prioritise her father’s recovery.
“Smriti is very close to her father. She decided that until her father gets well, this marriage, which was supposed to happen today (Sunday), is indefinitely postponed,” Mishra stated.
Mandhana’s family doctor reveals father’s illness
Initially perceived to be a heart attack, Mandhana’s family doctor, Dr Naman Shah, provided further clarity on her father’s illness on Sunday evening.
“At around 1.30 pm, Mr 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, he was shifted to hospital. We found out in ECG, other reports, that cardiac enzymes are elevated, hence we need to keep him in observation,” Shah told PTI.
“Blood pressure is also elevated, efforts are on to lower it. The whole team is monitoring. If the situation exacerbates, we will have to do angiography,” Shah added.
Palash Muchhal taken to hospital
Things went from bad to worse for a moment when Smriti Mandhana’s fiance, Palash Muchhal, had to be taken to hospital not long after her father’s illness.
Palash was taken to a private hospital for treatment due to a viral infection and increased acidity. However, the issue wasn’t serious. After receiving treatment, Palash departed the hospital for the hotel.
It was reported that Palash was briefly taken to a hospital in Sangli on Monday, but NDTV sources have now confirmed that he has been shifted to a hospital in Mumbai.
Mandhana deletes wedding-related social media posts
Following the events on Sunday, Mandhana sparked widespread curiosity on Monday when she deleted all wedding-related posts from her Instagram account, including the proposal video.
Further chatter was triggered when Mandhana’s close friends and India teammates Jemimah Rodrigues and Shreyanka Patil also took down their posts of the wedding announcement video. Later, Radha Yadav, another one of Mandhana’s India teammates, unfollowed Palash on Instagram.
However, it is important to note that several of Mandhana’s older posts featuring Palash are still up on her social media accounts.
Palash Muchhal’s sister and mother break silence
On Monday evening, Palash Muchhal’s sister – renowned singer Palak Muchhal – released a statement on social media, providing an update on her brother’s wedding with Smriti Mandhana.
“Due to Smriti’s dad’s health, Smriti and Palash’s wedding has been put on hold. We request all of you to respect the privacy of the families during this sensitive time,” Palak Muchhal posted on her Instagram story.
On Monday, Palash’s mother, Amita Muchhal, stated that it was her son’s decision to postpone wedding proceedings after Mandhana’s father fell ill.
“Palash is extremely attached to Smriti’s father. The two of them are even closer than Smriti is with him. When he fell ill, it was Palash, before Smriti, who decided that they should not go ahead with the wedding rituals until he gets better,” Amita Muchhal said, in a conversation with Hindustan Times.
She also provided the details of Palash’s brief illness.
“He (Palash) cried so much that his health suddenly deteriorated. They kept him in the hospital for four hours. He was given an IV drip, an ECG was done, and other tests were carried out,” she said.
No official statement regarding the wedding or a postponed date has been made yet by Smriti Mandhana or Palash Muchhal.