If you think that the women’s T20I should move beyond skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, then you’re not the only ones. Former India captain Mithali Raj has warned the management and entire setup against continuing with the latter in the leadership, and also suggested a new name. Mincing no words, Mithali made it clear, if the change is not brought about now, it’d be too late for the 2025 ODI World Cup.
No Harmanpreet Kaur, Says Mithali Raj
In fact, she did not even opt for the most obvious choice in Smriti Mandhana, but instead floated the name of Jemimah Rodrigues, to take over the reigns of this team. “If the selectors decide to change, I would go for a young captain,” Raj told PTI.
“This is the time [to change]; if you delay more then we have another [ODI] World Cup on the horizon [October 2025]. If you are not doing it now, then don’t do it later. Then it is too close to the World Cup.
“Smriti [Mandhana, the vice-captain since 2016] is there but I think someone like Jemimah [Rodrigues], she’s 24, she’s young, she will serve you more. And [she] is someone who I feel on the field gets that energy. She speaks to everybody. I was very impressed by her in this tournament.
“Despite playing those cameo roles, she never could convert her starts, but [she is] someone who really made an effort to build a momentum if there was no momentum; and if there was momentum, she tried to carry that momentum [forward].” India fared poorly in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, where they played four and won only two.
In the first match, they lost to New Zealand by over 50 runs, and in their last league game, lost to Australia by 9 runs. Their win came against weaker Sri Lanka and Pakistani sides.
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