A special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) celebrating India’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup victory was filmed this week at Film City, Mumbai. The World Cup-winning squad, including captain Harmanpreet Kaur, batter Harleen Deol, wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, opener Shafali Verma, Player of the Tournament Deepti Sharma, all-rounder Sneh Rana, and head coach Amol Muzumdar, attended the shoot, but vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was notably absent, drawing widespread attention.
The Indian Express reported that Mandhana’s vanity van remained parked and unused, signaling her absence before filming began. Studio staff noticed the empty seat, and backstage arrangements, including cue cards and seating plans, were quietly adjusted to accommodate her non-attendance.
Mandhana’s absence coincided with a highly publicised and unexpected postponement of her wedding to music composer-filmmaker Palash Muchhal. The wedding, initially scheduled for November 23 2025 in Sangli, Maharashtra, was postponed indefinitely due to a health scare involving Mandhana’s father, Shrinivas Mandhana.
On the planned wedding day, Shrinivas Mandhana suddenly fell ill and was rushed to the Sarvhit Hospital and Medical Research Centre in Sangli after experiencing heart attack–like symptoms, according to reports. Doctors diagnosed him with an angina-type cardiac episode requiring angiography and monitoring. Mandhana, especially close to her father, decided to put the wedding on hold until his recovery.
Following this, Palash Muchhal was admitted to a hospital in Sangli the next day. Hindustan Times reported that Palash’s mother told that he is very close to Mandhana’s father, and when he fell ill, Palash insisted that the wedding rituals not proceed until Shrinivas Mandhana recovered. He later shifted to Mumbai for observation and rest, with his mother Amita Muchhal and sister, singer Palak Muchhal, actively involved in his care. Reports indicated he was extremely emotional over the developments, emphasizing the priority of the family’s well-being over wedding plans.
Mandhana and Muchhal had reportedly been in a relationship since around 2019, keeping it low-profile until 2023–24, when they began appearing publicly together, according to Indian Express and Times of India. After India’s ODI World Cup win, Muchhal proposed at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, a moment shared by both on social media; Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent a congratulatory note referencing their planned wedding.
In the days leading up to the planned wedding, families and close friends had travelled to Sangli for pre-wedding functions—including haldi, mehendi, sangeet, and a “Bride XI vs Groom XI” cricket match. Photos and videos from these events circulated widely, amplifying public interest.
Following the postponement, Mandhana deleted or hid pre-wedding Instagram posts, including haldi, mehendi, and engagement dance content, while older photos with Muchhal initially remained. Team India friends and teammates, including Jemimah Rodrigues, Shreyanka Patil, and Radha Yadav, removed related content, fuelling speculation of a deeper disruption, although reports emphasized that the wedding was officially postponed, with no new date announced.
Around November 24–25, screenshots purporting to allegedly show Muchhal in flirty chats with a woman named Mary D’Costa circulated on Reddit, Instagram, and X, going viral. The messages, dated April–May 2025, suggested a brief, month-long interaction. Mary D’Costa took to Instagram to say that she had never met Muchhal in person, was not a choreographer, and had no involvement with the wedding. She stated that the screenshots misrepresented the interaction and that she had no romantic involvement with Muchhal.
This screenshot has not been independently verified by TNIE.
"First, the exchange of chats happened between April 29th and May 30th 2025, so the contact lasted for only one month. I want to make it absolutely clear that I never met him and I never got involved with him in any way. People have been asking, "Why speak about this now?" The truth is, I actually exposed him back in July, but no one really knew who he was at that time, so it went unnoticed," she wrote in a note shared on Instagram.
"There's also been a lot of confusion about who I am. I want to clarify, I am not the choreographer, and I am not the person he cheated with. I'm saying this because things are getting mixed up, and I don't want people assuming the wrong things," D’Costa's post added.
As of now, Shrinivas Mandhana has been discharged from the Sarvhit Hospital in Sangli and Palash Muchhal has returned home from observation. However, no revised wedding date has been announced. Social media activity, including deleted posts, cleaned profiles, and Mandhana’s absence from KBC, continues to fuel speculation about the couple’s relationship, although no official confirmation exists of a breakup or wedding cancellation.