New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to take a call on Harmanpreet Kaur’s future as India women skipper after the team failed to qualify for the semifinals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in the United Arab Emirates. India won two out of their four group matches and were knocked out of the tournament after losing their last contest against dominant Australia.
The Indian women side’s campaign in the showpiece event started on a disappointing note after they lost the first match against New Zealand. The Harmanpreet-led side bounced back soon after the opening loss, claiming back-to-back victories against arch-rivals Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In their last group clash, they went down to champions Aussies and then the net run rate factor put their campaign at rest.
Who replaces Harmanpreet Kaur as skipper?
For all, the most obvious name which strikes the mind as Harmanpreet’s successor is deputy Smriti Mandhana but for former Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj, she is not the ideal candidate. According to a report published in Indian Express, the Indian cricket board will take a call on Harmanpreet’s captaincy future before the beginning of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand later this month.
Meanwhile for Mithali Raj according to multiple media reports, Jemimah Rodrigues is the right candidate to replace Harmanpreet as the skipper of Indian women’s team. According to her, Jemimah (24) is young, and she can serve the Indian women’s cricket longer than Smriti. Additionally, the former skipper also believes that this is the right time to change the skipper.
“It’s up to BCCI and the selectors to take a call, but if they are looking to change, this would be the ideal time because if you delay more, then we have another World Cup on the horizon (two years). If you are not doing it now, then don’t do it later. Then it is too close to the World Cup,” she was quoted as saying by PTI.
