Former Indian cricket captain Mithali Raj has publicly supported Smriti Mandhana as the optimal choice to lead India’s women’s cricket teams in ODIs and Tests, asserting that the young opener should have been entrusted with the role “two-three years back.” Raj’s endorsement coincides with Mandhana’s recent openness to assuming leadership responsibilities.
Expressing confidence in Mandhana’s capabilities, Raj emphasized her maturity and experience as pivotal for steering India’s white-ball formats. However, Raj also suggested a generational shift, proposing younger leaders for T20Is to adapt to the format’s evolving demands. This call aligns with Mandhana’s earlier remarks on her readiness to captain the team.
“I at least thought Smriti would lead the ODI format two-three years back. But now also, with the vast experience that she has at least the one-day and Test format should be given to her and perhaps the T20 to someone younger,” Mithali Raj stated to Cricinfo.
Raj highlighted Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues as promising contenders for India’s T20I captaincy, citing Verma’s leadership in the recently won Under-19 World Cup and Rodrigues’ experience leading Delhi Capitals in the WPL. Both, she argued, exemplify both leadership potential and relevance to the format’s strategic nuances.
“Shafali [Verma] has led the Under-19 World Cup side to a title win in 2023. Why not Shafali? Jemi [Rodrigues] too of course, yes. She has led [Delhi Capitals] in the WPL. But I do believe that whoever they pick, they need to give them some time to settle,” Raj remarked.
Raj clarified that her push for leadership changes isn’t directly tied to India’s underwhelming performances in recent ICC tournaments, including their exits from the Women’s T20 World Cup. Instead, she underscored the importance of evaluating captaincy beyond immediate results, focusing on a player’s ability to handle diverse challenges over time.
“Yes, we did not qualify for the semi-finals for the second time in a row but that cannot be the only reason or criteria to come to conclusion that you need to change the leader. Because I believe that there are few boxes that one need to actually see if the player ticks those boxes,”
Addressing former captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s tenure, Raj critiqued her inconsistent impact in high-stakes matches, particularly in ICC events. She observed delays in Kaur’s ability to score significant innings during recent World Cups, including the 2024 T20 World Cup, 2025 ODI World Cup, and the concluding 2026 T20 World Cup stages.
“If you see Harman’s form in the three World Cups, the Dubai T20 World Cup [2024] the ODI World Cup [2025] and the recently concluded T20 World Cup (2026), we’ve seen a pattern. She gets those 15-20 runs but it always takes her three to four games to get her 50 in the World Cup,” Raj observed.
Notably, Harmanpreet achieved a landmark milestone by becoming the first Indian woman cricketer to captain a team in 200 international matches across formats, marking a historic benchmark in women’s cricket leadership.
