Why Smriti Mandhana’s Time as India Captain Has Come
Boria Majumdar
Smriti Mandhana was ready and, more importantly, India were in need of fresh ideas in the T20 format with an eye on the 2028 Olympic Games. Harmanpreet Kaur’s decision to step down as captain is therefore a timely one. She continues as a batter, and Mandhana will need her experience in the middle order.
In an interview with me the day after the women’s event at the Asian Games ended, Mandhana acknowledged the need for improvement in T20 cricket. That was what stood out most from the conversation. She wasn’t sugar-coating it or trying to suggest that the Asia Cup and Asian Games gold medals had masked all the deficiencies. Instead, she was open about the issues confronting India in T20 cricket and clear that, to compete with Australia and South Africa, things needed to improve.
Introspect, accept and redeem – Abhinav Bindra’s three-step formula – is what Mandhana was effectively suggesting. And one can only do that if one isn’t held back by insecurities. Mandhana wasn’t, and she was clearly ready for the responsibility of captaincy.
The Olympic Games are still under two years away, and Smriti will need time to fashion her team. With Shafali Verma as vice-captain, there are signs of proactive thinking. The time to experiment is now, so that India have a clear template by the middle of 2027. You need to medal at the Olympic Games and, to do so, India need to plug a few gaps in the team. Mandhana knows that and will now have the time to get on with the task at hand.
Smriti has been vice-captain for eight years now, and that is a long time. Harmanpreet, on the other hand, was captain for a decade, which is an equally long stint for any cricketer. While she has done well in the 50-over format and in red-ball cricket, India failed to reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2024 and again in 2026. That is what sticks out.
Perhaps that is why Harmanpreet the batter is now more important for India than Harmanpreet the captain. She needed to be freed up to rediscover her batting form, which has been patchy. India need her firing in the Champions Trophy and at LA28.
For Smriti, on the other hand, the time is now. Speak to some of her colleagues and it is clear that she commands respect in the dressing room. She is the team’s best batter and has demonstrated her leadership ability in the WPL. To hold her back for much longer would have been unfair and, from that standpoint, this is a significant move.
The good thing about Smriti is that she isn’t one to blame underperformers on a given day, nor is she someone who seeks credit for mentoring younger colleagues. That was another feature of our interview and, to me, it suggested that her time had come.
Finally, in Smriti, India have someone who is keen to experiment. The hunger is there and so is the passion to prove a point. She has repeatedly said that LA28 is the pinnacle, and now that she has the team, she will want to give players opportunities and put the best possible squad together, in tandem with head coach Amol Muzumdar.
Harmanpreet should look back on a job well done. At the same time, India needed a new leader, and few are better placed than Smriti to take on the mantle of captain for the next few years.
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