Is it finally time for the stable of Indian women’s cricket to look ahead and build for future with a brand new captain in midst of its planning? In other words, is it time for the Indian women’s cricket team
to look for a new captain and plan for a future that perhaps looks beyond its current and longstanding captain, Harmanpreet Kaur? But here is a bit of a context, first up!
Ever since the great Mithali Raj, a respected and successful figure in Indian cricket, called time on her international career, it signalled an elevation in the leadership position for the brilliant Punjab born batter.
But as far as Diana Edulji, an all time great of Indian women’s cricket is concerned, the team should now move on from Harmanpreet Kaur and pass on the leadership baton to Smriti Mandhana.
Diana Edulji said, “it is time to move on from Harmanpreet Kaur, at least in the captaincy part. We cannot keep Smriti waiting in the wings for so long. We can ask Smriti to lead at least in the T20i, and perhaps in 50-over too. Harmanpreet can continue in Tests. We can even have… pic.twitter.com/v5R5mcUvQH
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 21, 2026
As one knows, under Harmanpreet Kaur’s remarkable leadership, the team won the famous 2025 ODI women’s World Cup that was hosted in India, a great triumph of women’s cricket’s rise in a country where it’s already a big sport. The team has also reached the finals of the T20 World Cup twice with the exception of this recent edition that was held in England.
But perhaps time is right to elevate Smriti Mandhana to the position of the team’s captain in both one day and T20 internationals.
That said, the former India cricketer Diana Edulji is of the view that maybe the team can still continue with Harmanpreet as the skipper in the red ball format of the game, i.e, Test cricket.
Speaking at a cricket event held in India recently that was covered by the revered Sportstar magazine, Diana Edulji shared the following, “it is time to move on from Harmanpreet Kaur, at least in the captaincy part. We cannot keep Smriti waiting in the wings for so long. We can ask Smriti to lead at least in the T20i, and perhaps in 50-over too. Harmanpreet can continue in Tests. We can even have three different coaches, we don’t need one coach for all three formats”.
And while the decision is a huge one considering it involves the future of Indian women’s cricket, perhaps making Mandhana the captain won’t be such a wrong move, after all.
While Harmanpreet is nearing the twilight of her playing career, someone like Mandhana instituted as the team’s captain would be a daring move. And given the fact that the famous left hander is a hugely talented batter and besides a thinking and courageous cricketer, might be able to shepherd the direction of Indian women’s cricket to some place good.
