Since Harmanpreet Kaur quit as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all formats, Smriti Mandhana has been named as the new leader. But there have been some bumps in the shift. A source on the team confirmed that the two senior players were very angry with each other over who would be captain.
Harmanpreet Kaur, 37, quit after a review meeting with the BCCI. He was born in Moga and took over as India’s captain for the first time in 2016. She ended her time as leader having just led India to its second straight Asian Games gold medal in Japan. She chose to step down after the review meeting in Guwahati, which was led by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, made it clear that someone else would have to take over.
Why did people think Mandhana would be the best person to replace Harmanpreet Kaur?
Mandhana has become one of the best batters in women’s cricket since her debut at the international level in 2013. The left-handed opener, who is 30 years old, has scored more than 10,000 runs across all formats and is generally thought to be India’s best batter by a large margin.
Mandhana was getting irritated with the selectors because they didn’t change anything about the captaincy even after India won the ODI World Cup at home, ending their ICC title drought. In a recent interview, she said she was ready to lead the group. She also said that the team should aim for bigger events after India won the Asian Games gold. In between those high points, India was kicked out of back-to-back T20 World Cups too soon, which made people question the leadership, especially in the shorter format.
Mithali Raj, who used to be captain of India, spoke out after India was knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the UK earlier this year. He questioned Harmanpreet Kaur health and form and said that Mandhana should have been picked two or three years earlier.
What does Harmanpreet Kaur continued involvement as a player mean for how the team works together?
If everything goes as planned, Harmanpreet Kaur plans to keep playing for another two or three years. This means that the two top players will have to share the locker room. Mandhana is now captain, which used to make things difficult between them.
People have said bad things about the judges before when there was a change in leadership on the Indian women’s team. When Harmanpreet Kaur took over as ODI leader from Mithali after the 2022 World Cup, the two veterans were said to have had the worst time ever getting along. This led to divisions in the team.
Also Read : McSweeney Century Headlines Australia A’s Dominant Win
India did well in the most recent Asian Games and the Asia Cup, but Harmanpreet wasn’t at her best with the bat during those events. If she stays on the team as a specialist batter, people will expect more from her personal performance. It’s still not clear if Harmanpreet and Mandhana can put aside their differences for the good of the team.
Discussion about this post