Former India captain Mithali Raj believes Smriti Mandhana should become India’s next ODI and Test captain after Harmanpreet Kaur, while Shafali Verma should be given the chance to lead the T20I team.
Speaking to PTI, Mithali said India now needs to prepare new leaders for the future after another disappointing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign, where the team failed to reach the semi-finals for the second tournament in a row.
Although Harmanpreet Kaur led India to their historic ICC Women’s ODI World Cup title last year, Mithali said the selectors should not decide the captain’s future based only on one tournament. She said several important factors should be considered before making a decision.
“Yes, we did not qualify for the semifinals 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.
“One is, of course, the fitness, I feel is very important. Harman in the last two, three years, you see the physio quite often on the ground, every game, when she’s playing, there are few games that she was unavailable. So, you obviously would want your captain to be fit and available for all games. And unfortunately, all of us age, so she’s not the fittest,” Mithali said.
She also said Harmanpreet has not been consistent with the bat in recent ICC tournaments and has often taken a few matches before playing a big innings.
“If you see Harman’s form in the three World Cups, the Dubai T20 World Cup, the ODI World Cup, and the recently concluded T20 World Cup (in UK), we’ve seen that a pattern is that she gets those 15, 20 runs but it always takes her three to four games to get her 50 in the World Cup.
“And the third factor is that, you know, does she fit into the scheme of things in the next cycle of your One Day World Cup or a T20 World Cup? So, I think whoever is in the position to take this decision have to factor these things,” she added.
Mithali also believes that the team’s recent results are not only the captain’s responsibility. She said the coach should also be held responsible because both captain and coach make important decisions together.
“And if you’re thinking that only because the T20 World Cup hasn’t gone well for India, then there is a change needs to happen there. Even the coach (Amol Muzumdar) is accountable because both captain and coach take the decisions of the playing XI.”
Looking ahead, Mithali strongly supported Smriti Mandhana as India’s next ODI and Test captain. She said the experienced opener should have been given the role much earlier because she has enough experience to lead the team.
“I at least thought Smriti would lead the ODI format two, three years back. But now also, with the experience that she has, the vast experience, at least the one-day and Test format should be given to her and perhaps the T20 to someone younger, I feel, in the T20 format. But one day, clearly, you need experience.”
For the T20I team, Mithali believes Shafali Verma is the best choice because the shortest format suits her game. She also mentioned Jemimah Rodrigues as another possible option.
“For T20Is, I think Shefali. Her format is T20Is. And she has led under-19 World Cup. Why not Shefali? Jemi too of course, yes. She has led in the WPL. But I do believe that whoever they pick, they need to give them some time to settle. Because all of us got time to settle in our role as a leader,” she said.
Mithali also expressed concern that India has not done enough to prepare future captains. She said young players who have already shown leadership skills have not been given enough opportunities.
“Since the start of the Under-19 World Cup, honestly, I’ve not seen any Under-19 player being groomed for the leadership role. And that is where I believe that growth is not just giving players opportunity in the 15 or in the 11. Growth is also about adding players into the leadership group.
“So far, the leadership group for the longest time has been these two (Harman and Smriti). But we’ve never had a third person who we can think that, okay, this person can lead in their absence. And sadly, that’s where we are at the moment. But I would like to also state that I was able to lead for so long as BCCI invested in me, same way like it did in Harman.
“Shafali Verma led India to U-19 World Cup title but she was not given leadership role. Why? Ditto for Niki Prasad, who should have been made India A skipper. So, I don’t understand the thought process here. We don’t have a roadmap. We don’t think about two years down the lane, where do you see Indian team? We are only thinking about series to series. We don’t have a long-term plan,” Mithali said.
The former captain also spoke about India’s fast bowling and fielding. She said both areas need improvement, and better fitness is the key.
“Fast bowling is obviously a skill which also goes hand-in-hand with fitness. And I believe, sometimes we pick players when they are still growing (in experience). Apart from the skill, they’re still understanding what is the fitness regime as a fast bowler that you need to go through or you need to follow.
“As far as fielding is concerned, it also boils down to your individual training. Like all of us, when we go back home, we are all focusing on our batting, on our bowling. But not particularly on fielding. We only do that when we come into the camps. There might be some players who would be working on their fielding. But as a team, if we want to do well, we need to give equal attention to all departments.”
Mithali also said India should continue developing finishers like Richa Ghosh and give players clearly defined roles. She believes a strong long-term plan, along with better leadership development, fitness and fielding, will help India become a more successful team in the coming years.
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