Smriti Mandhana: Now the face of captaincy has changed in Indian women’s cricket. After Harbhanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana has been made the new full-time captain of Team India. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially announced Smriti’s appointment on Tuesday. With this, a new captaincy era has begun in Indian women’s cricket.
Smriti has been one of the most important players in the Indian team for the past several years. Now along with the responsibility of batting, the team will also be on his shoulders. He will be the full-time captain of India in both ODI (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) formats.
The captain has no new work to remember. She has also captained India in 18 T20Is and 4 ODIs earlier. However, now for the first time he has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading the team in both the white-ball formats on a regular basis. Playing for India since 2013, Smriti has extensive experience in international cricket.
RCB has been champion twice
The biggest aspect in Smriti’s side is his captaincy record in franchise cricket. She has led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to the Women’s Premier League (WPL) title in 2024 and 2026. That is, even before taking charge of Team India, he has already achieved success as a captain on the big stage.
Remembered Harbhanpreet as soon as he became captain
After becoming the captain, Smriti first remembered the contribution of former captain Harbhanpreet Kaur. He said, “Harmanpreet has led the team with full commitment over the years. It is a very special honor to be given the responsibility of leading India. Representing India has always meant a lot to me and now getting the opportunity to lead the team is a responsibility that I will take very seriously.”
Indian squad announced for Zimbabwe series
After the change of captain, the first squad of Team India under the leadership of Smriti has also been announced. The women’s selection committee has announced the squad for the T20 and ODI series against Zimbabwe.
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T20 Series: To be played in Raipur (October 16, 18 and 20, 7:00 pm).
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ODI Series: To be played in Vadodara (October 23, 25 and 28, 2:00 PM).
Harbhanpreet Kaur will enter the battlefield as a player in this series. Shefali Verma has been made the vice-captain in the T20 team and Deepti Sharma in the ODI team.
The complete squad of Team India
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India’s T20 Team: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Shefali Verma (vice captain), Niki Prasad, Harbhanpreet Kaur, Anushka Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), G Kamalini (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Sri Charani, Nandini Sharma, Kranti Goud, Arundhati Reddy, Jintimani Kalita, Minnu Mani.
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India ODI Team: Smriti Mandhana (Captain), Shefali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harbhanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol, Tejal Hasbanis, Deepti Sharma (Vice Captain), Richa Ghosh (Wicketkeeper), Yastika Bhatia (Wicketkeeper), Vaishnavi Sharma, Nandini Sharma, Sri Charani, Kranti Gaud, Saili Satghare, Renuka Thakur.