India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has declared her willingness to take on the captaincy role if the opportunity arises, as the leadership position in the women’s team is set to change.
Having been Harmanpreet Kaur’s deputy in all formats, Mandhana is expected to step into the role as India’s women’s cricket team prepares for the next phase. With Harmanpreet set to step down as captain following a decade-long tenure, which included leading the team to the ODI World Cup victory last year, there has been speculation about who will succeed her as the team’s leader.
Smriti Mandhana outlines her vision for India’s future
In an interaction with the Times of India, Mandhana was asked whether she was ready to take up the role of the leader of the side. The elegant left-hander responded in the affirmative. “Yes, of course. I’m ready,” she replied.
Mandhana has already displayed her mettle as a leader by leading the side in four ODIs and 18 T20 Internationals. Furthermore, the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Women’s Premier League guided her team to victory in the 2024 and 2026 editions of the competition, being lauded for her tactical nous and stoic approach as a captain.
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Although Harmanpreet’s stint as the captain coincided with India’s historic ODI World Cup win, the team’s abysmal performance in the recently concluded T20 World Cup has raised several questions about the future direction of the women’s team.
Speaking on the team’s struggles in the T20 World Cup, Mandhana acknowledged that they failed to rectify the errors which have plagued the team in the past ICC events.
“It’s important to introspect and learn from our mistakes. We haven’t learned a lot from our mistakes and we keep repeating them,” Mandhana stated.
She added that the team needed to put their heads together and strategize for the future.
“We need to start working on our game plan for the next Women’s T20 World Cup. The next T20 World Cup is in 2028, so we need to think of a roadmap till then and what we want to achieve as a team in the shortest format,” she added.
Mandhana, if appointed as the captain, will bring in her vast experience and a winning mentality to the role. She spoke about the kind of captaincy she envisioned for herself.
“For me, it (captaining India) is more about building the room in the right way so that everyone feels valued. I think when people feel valued and listened to, they play their best cricket,” she said.
As India prepares to enter the next era of women’s cricket, Mandhana’s experience, success as a leader, and ability to deliver with the bat make her the most credible successor to the role.
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