Former India team skipper Shantha Rangaswamy said that recent World Cup winning captain Harmanpreet Kaur should hand over the captain’s mantle to Smriti Mandhana, adding that the change was needed keeping an eye on the long-term future of the team. Rangaswamy opined that leaving captaincy would be beneficial for Harmanpreet who will remain an invaluable member of the team due to her batting and fielding skills. Under Harman, India became the ODI World Champions on Sunday with the next edition scheduled in 2029 while the T20 showpiece is in the UK next year.
“It’s overdue. Because Harman as a batter and a fielder is brilliant. Yes. But tactically, she can fumble at times. I feel she can contribute more if she’s without the burden of captaincy. See, when it comes after a success like this (World Cup win), it will not be taken well but in the interest of Indian cricket and in Harman’s own interest, I think she can contribute much more as a batter without the burden of captaincy. She still has three-four years of big-time cricket left. Not being captain would allow her to do that. Smriti should be made captain across formats. You need to plan for future World Cups also,” Rangaswamy said to PTI.
Rangaswamy also referred to Rohit Sharma’s case as the selectors moved on from him for the team’s sake after he captained India to the Champions Trophy title earlier this year.
Rangaswamy could not be happier about the team’s title winning run at home but she also made it a point to talk about the vulnerable areas. “In our days batting used to be the weaker link. Now batting has a settled look but bowling is a concern. Fielding too can be a lot better.
“Australia lost only because they did not have a good bowling attack. I would say Pakistan and Bangladesh had better bowling attacks. The batters did the job for us,” said Rangaswamy referring to seven-time champions Australia losing to India in the semifinals with the latter not being able to defend 338.
(With agency inputs)
