Former India player Diana Edulji wants Smriti Mandhana to replace Harman as skipper at the earliest
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Former India player Diana Edulji wants Smriti Mandhana to replace Harman as skipper at the earliest")
Diana Edulji wants Smriti Mandhana to replace Harman as skipper at the earliest Photograph: (AFP)
Former India player Diana Edulji wants vice-captain Smriti Mandhana to replace Harmanpreet Kaur as India women's skipper, citing Kaur's age ahead of the next ODI World Cup.
India women skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is by far the best skipper to have led the national cricket team with multiple titles under her name. Her most recent ICC trophy was the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup - the first ever for the team. The skipper, however, is 37 and would be around 40 by the time the next ODI World Cup comes. Former India player Diana Edulji, keeping Harman's age in mind, wants vice-captain and dashing opener Smriti Mandhana to be appointed India women's skipper at the earliest.
Edulji wants Mandhana to replace Harman as skipper at earliest
"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 to Mid-Day.
Harman most recently led India to a Women's Asia Cup victory which was marred by a 'no-trophy ceremony,' as per the official stance of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against receiving the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also a federal minister in the Pakistan government. The BCCI adopted the same stance for the men's Asia Cup last year following the Pahalgam terror attack in India's Jammu and Kashmir by Pak-based terrorists.
Harman's record as India skipper
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Harman made her India debut in 2009 and became captain of the side in 2013. Since then, she has led India in 51 ODIs and won 30 of them, the second most for India behind Mithali Raj's 89 wins in 155 matches. The record gets reversed in T20Is, where Harman has won 89 matches out of 152 she has led the side compared to 17 wins in 32 matches for Mithali. Harman's 89 wins as skipper in Women's T20Is are also the most for any captain in the format.
