Indian women's team ready for split captaincy? Diana Edulji suggests
What's the story
Former captain Diana Edulji has suggested a split-captaincy system for the Indian women's cricket team. The proposal comes after India's early exit from the 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup. Edulji believes it's time to move on from Harmanpreet Kaur's leadership in white-ball cricket and give Smriti Mandhana a chance to lead, at least in the shortest format.
Leadership roles
Multiple leaders for different formats
Edulji also suggested that the team could have multiple leaders, with Mandhana leading in WT20Is and WODIs.
She proposed that Harmanpreet should continue as captain in WTests.
"We cannot keep Smriti waiting in the wings for so long," Edulji said at the trophy unveiling ceremony of the Maharani Trophy KSCA T20 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.
Performance concerns
Free hand as a batter
Edulji also expressed her concerns over Harmanpreet's performance as a player.
She said, "I believe Harmanpreet is finding it difficult. Her game is getting affected, so let her have a free hand as a batter."
The former captain stressed that it's been too long without new ideas in the team and suggested that they could even have three different coaches for different formats.
Retention disagreement
BCCI backs Harmanpreet for Asian Games
Despite Edulji's concerns, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has retained Harmanpreet as captain for the upcoming Asian Games. The decision is contrary to Edulji's suggestion of a leadership change.
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), G. Kamalini (wicket-keeper), Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, and Nandni Sharma.
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Most successful captain in WT20Is
According to ESPNcricinfo, Harmanpreet is the most successful captain in WT20Is. She has won 84 of her 147 WT20Is as captain, losing 57 (Tied: 1 and NR: 5). Under her, India reached the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup final.