Harmanpreet Kaur: Harmanpreet Kaur has left the captaincy of all three formats. He informed his fans about this with an emotional post on social media. Harman has taken this decision after the recently held BCCI review meeting. Till now the board has not announced the name of the next captain. In such a situation, the question arises that who will take charge of the Indian women's cricket team after Harmanpreet Kaur?
There are continuous news coming and there is also discussion on social media that surely Smriti Mandhana, the board star batsman and who has been playing the role of vice-captain for a long time, will be the next captain. In this article, we will tell you about 3 such reasons, which are testifying that Smriti Mandhana will be the next captain of the Indian women's cricket team.
Great captaincy experience and excellent track record
Indian star opener Smriti Mandhana has great experience of captaincy at both international and domestic level. She has been the vice-captain of Team India for a long time and whenever she got a chance as the acting captain in the absence of Harmanpreet, she has proved herself.
As a stand-in captain, he has led India to victory in 15 out of 22 international matches, in which his record in the ODI format has been 100% (4 wins in 4 matches). Apart from this, by making Royal Challengers Bangalore champion twice with her strategic skills in the Women's Premier League, she has proved that she can take the best decisions under pressure.
The X-factor of being the world number 1 batsman
It is most important for a captain to be in form himself. This gives confidence to the captain and the team also performs better. Smriti is currently at the peak of her career. She has won the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year award in 2024-25, is the world's number-1 batsman in ODIs and was also one of the top scorers in this World Cup. When the captain herself scores runs, the confidence of the entire team will automatically increase, just like it happened during the time of Virat Kohli.
ability to lead from the front
A great captain is one who can motivate the team with his personal performance. Smriti Mandhana is one of the most lethal and consistently performing batsmen in the world at present. She has become the player who has scored the most runs and most centuries (18 centuries) for India in women's international cricket, leaving behind former legend Mithali Raj. When the captain herself is the top ranked player in the world, the confidence of the entire team increases and the team registers victory.
International records of Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana has played 9 test matches for India so far, in which she has scored 788 runs at an average of 52.33. Has played 120 ODI matches, in which he has scored 5411 runs at an average of 47.88 and strike rate of 90.37. He has played 179 T-20 International matches, in which he has scored 4867 runs at a strike rate of 127.48 and an average of 31. Smriti Mandhana has scored 5 centuries and 2 half-centuries in Tests. Has scored 35 centuries and 14 half-centuries in ODIs. He has scored 37 half-centuries in T-20.
Let us tell you, Smriti has captained in 4 ODI matches, in which she has led her team to victory in all 4 matches. Smriti has captained the Indian women's cricket team in 18 T20I matches, in which they have won 11 matches and lost 6 matches.
Also read:IND VS WI: If these 3 West Indies batsmen leave today, then Team India's victory in the first T20 will be impossible.