New Delhi, India

Former India women's team captain Mithali Raj believes that 'time to move on from Harmanpreet Kaur as skipper is now.' The comments come after India failed to qualify for the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup 2024 following Pakistan's loss to New Zealand in the last Group A game.

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"If the selectors decide to change, I would go for a young captain," Raj told news agency 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," she added.

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India were dependent on Pakistan vs New Zealand after losing a close game against Australia women in their last group match of the World Cup. Chasing 152, India fell short by nine runs with Kaur scoring 54 but failing to take the side over the line.

Kaur's decision not to deny Pooja Vastrakar a run on the last ball of the penultimate over also drew criticism from all quarters.

Raj, meanwhile, wants 24-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues to replace Kaur as skipper instead of Mandhana who has long been Kaur's deputy across formats.

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"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]," added Raj.

India has constantly failed to live up to the expectations in ICC tournaments including the most recent T20 World Cup 2024 debacle.