We are holding back Smriti Mandhana for a long time, says Edulji on India captaincy

Diana Edulji has made a case for Smriti Mandhana to take over as captain of the Indian women's team across all three formats of the game. The former BCCI official's comments come as India prepares for the Asian Games 2026, where the women's cricket competition runs from September 17 to 22. Harmanpreet Kaur currently leads the side and has been retained as captain for the Asian Games, with India facing Japan in a straight knockout quarterfinal match on September 18 at 10:30 AM IST.

Edulji expressed her views on the future of India's women's cricket leadership, highlighting the need for succession planning. According to her assessment, the time has come to transition the captaincy and prepare younger players for greater responsibility, heading into the next ODI World Cup.

"We are holding back Smriti Mandhana for a long time. By the time the next World Cup comes along, Harman will be nearing 40, so let’s give a good run to Smriti and look at two youngsters as vice-captains. My humble request to Harman would be to let people ask why and not why not," Edulji said.

Edulji proposes 2 names for vice-captaincy

Edulji's suggestion includes identifying potential vice-captains from the emerging talent pool to be groomed for future leadership roles within the Indian women's cricket setup. She proposed two specific names as candidates for this responsibility.

"Right now, we can have Jemimah (Rodrigues) or Shafali (Varma) as the vice-captain, and train them (for the bigger responsibility)," Edulji added.

Both the batters are part of the Asian Games squad and have featured prominently in recent matches for India.

Mandhana's record-breaking performances

Mandhana's recent performances have strengthened the case for her elevation to the captaincy. During the Women's Asia Cup 2026, she scored 124 runs against Hong Kong in Dubai, demonstrating her form with the bat in the shortest format.

Mandhana has achieved significant milestones in her international career. She broke Mithali Raj's record of 10,868 runs to become the leading run-getter in women's internationals, a landmark achievement that underscores her status as one of the world's premier batters.

Her century against Hong Kong was her second T20I hundred, making the 30-year-old the first Indian woman to score multiple centuries in the shortest format. Mandhana has also broken the record for most centuries in international cricket with 18 to her name, surpassing Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt, who have 17 apiece.

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Harmanpreet, currently 37 years old, has led India to significant success in recent years. Under her captaincy, the Women-in-Blue clinched their maiden ODI World Cup win last year, a historic achievement for Indian women's cricket.