Ahead of the 2017 ICC Women's World Cup, Indian captain Mithali Raj was forced to shut a journalist who had asked her a sexist question. Asked to name her favourite male cricketer, furious Mithali gave a stunning reply: "Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer?"

Her response took the social media by storm with many lauding her spirit amid the ever-growing gender disparity between men and women cricketers. Just days after that incident, another comment regarding the women's cricketers has set the social media on fire, this time for all the right reasons.

Superb response from Indian skipper Mithali Raj. Asked by a reporter who her favourite male player is: "Would you ask a man that?" 👊🏻 #WWC17 pic.twitter.com/RqgVLzXp46

— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) June 22, 2017

Indian opener Smriti Mandhana is currently in a rich vein of form at the ongoing World Cup. With 198 runs in three games, the left-hander is the top run-scorer for India and fourth overall in the tournament. Her brilliant batting display has attracted a lot of praise from fans, media and players alike.

© Reuters

But, as praise grew louder, a fan likened the 20-year-old opener with former Indian batting sensation Virender Sehwag who also rose to fame with his swashbuckling and fearless batting style at the top of the order. “@mandhana_smriti is the Female version of @virendersehwag You can be proud of her sir,” the fan tweeted.

@mandhana_smriti is the Female version of @virendersehwag
You can be proud of her sir pic.twitter.com/wW8awyt9Ie

— SPYder (@UrstrulyBharat_) June 30, 2017

But, it was Sehwag's reply, focussed on giving credit where it was due, that won many hearts on the social media. “She is the first version of Smriti and is really special. Every Indian who loves sports will be proud of her. Wish her and the team the best,” Sehwag tweeted.

She is the first version of Smriti and is really special. Every Indian who loves sports will be proud of her. Wish her and the team the best https://t.co/RrjavFVLc0

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 30, 2017

Sehwag's comments drew plenty of praise on the social media platforms with former Australian women's cricketer Mel Jones labelling his words as "one of the quotes of Women's World Cup 2017".

One of the quotes of the #WWC17, beautifully said @virendersehwag! 👏🏽👊🏽 https://t.co/A26Ag7cFpj

— Mel 'MJ' Jones (@meljones_33) July 1, 2017

Mandhana's batting has led the media and fans to compare her to other explosive left-handers in the men's game like Kumar Sangakkara, Adam Gilchrist and even Sourav Ganguly. However, Sehwag's tweet seems to be the perfect example of the kind treatment every women's cricketer deserves.