'Captaincy won't be a completely new challenge', says Smriti Mandhana
What's the story
India's newly appointed women's cricket captain, Smriti Mandhana, has said that her new leadership role won't be a completely new challenge for her. The 29-year-old cricketer, who has been part of the Indian team since 2013, was appointed captain earlier this month. She will now lead the side in white-ball cricket after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the role. Here's more.
Leadership journey
Mandhana wants to do justice to the role
Mandhana, who has been the vice-captain for nearly a decade, said that while the full-time captaincy is something new to look forward to, she hopes to do justice to it.
"I have been the vice-captain for almost 10 years. So, I have been part of the leadership group and I wouldn't say it is an entirely new thing. But, for sure, it is something to look forward to and hopefully I can do justice to the role," Mandhana told reporters.
Strategy
An exciting opportunity for both teams: Mandhana
Mandhana stressed that she would continue to play according to the team's needs and trust her instincts.
She said, "My coach used to tell me when I was 15 years old, 'Whenever you bat, always think you are the captain.' You always take that responsibility."
The left-handed batter also called India's upcoming series against Zimbabwe an exciting opportunity for both teams.
Learning curve
Learning opportunities against associate nations
Mandhana believes that playing against teams like Zimbabwe and other Associate nations can provide a lot of learning opportunities.
She said, "Sometimes, playing with Zimbabwe and all the Associate nations, it feels like you can learn a lot from them as well because they enjoy playing their cricket."
The captain also emphasized that India will use these matches to set standards ahead of the Champions Trophy.
Upcoming challenges
India will use Zimbabwe series to work on aspects
The Zimbabwe series will be Mandhana's first assignment as India's full-time captain.
She said, "We have won the World Cup in the last one-and-a-half-year, but there were few things which we needed to work in the T20 format especially."
The upcoming matches will give her and the team management a chance to work on those aspects before the Champions Trophy.
Information
Key details of the IND-W vs ZIM-W upcoming series
India will be playing against Zimbabwe from October 16 to October 28, 2026. The three T20Is will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur starting at 7:00 PM IST, while the three ODIs are scheduled at the BCA Stadium (Kotambi) in Vadodara starting at 2:00 PM IST.
Twitter Post
Words!
New responsibility, same fearless approach 🫡
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 14, 2026
🎥 @mandhana_smriti addresses the media in her first press conference as #TeamIndia's full-time captain 🗣️#INDvZIM | @mflone_ pic.twitter.com/u3s5zRnIOr