India women’s cricket team star Smriti Mandhana is ready take over the reins from Harmanpreet Kaur as the captain across formats of the game. The highest run-getter among the current lot, the batter from Maharashtra currently serves as the vice-captain. It has been ten years since Harmanpreet became the captain of the Indian team, and it is about time she paves way for a new leader.
Smriti Mandhana ready to become India captain
In an interview with the Times of India, Mandhana responded to a question on her willingness to accept captaincy amid talks of leadership change with an optimistic, “Yes, of course. I’m ready.” The batter has captained India Women in 4 ODIs and 18 T20Is. Her most commendable run as captain came in the Women’s Premier League as she led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to two WPL titles (2024 and 2026).
Meanwhile, Kaur led India to their maiden ODI World Cup title last year. The T20 World Cup earlier in June was a golden opportunity for India Women to add another trophy to their cabinet. However, that was not to be as they were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage after losing to Australia and South Africa.
On being asked about India’s failed T20 WC campaign, Smriti Mandhana pointed out that the team had repeated mistakes made in the past and had failed to make corrections, leading to their campgain being derailed. She stated that there was a need to have a clear roadmap leading to the next T20 World Cup in 2028.
“It’s important to introspect and learn from mistakes. Unfortunately, we haven’t learnt enough from our past errors and have continued to repeat them. Going forward, there needs to be a clear roadmap until the 2028 T20 World Cup on how we want to approach the format and what we need to do as a team,” Mandhana pointed out.
Mandhana also spoke about her philosophy as a captain and stated that she believes in creating a positive team culture.
“For me, creating a positive team culture is most important. Every player should feel comfortable expressing themselves and being who they are. When people feel valued and trusted, they tend to perform better,” Mandhana added.
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