"Take It To The Next Level": Smriti Mandhana Warned About Her Biggest Challenge As India Captain

File image of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana© NDTV Library

Former India captain Anjum Chopra believes Smriti Mandhana does not have to measure herself against Harmanpreet Kaur as the side's new captain and should instead carve out her own leadership path after being handed charge across formats. Smriti was named India's all-format captain on the same day Harmanpreet stepped down after nearly a decade at the helm. Her first full-time assignment as India's captain is the home series against Zimbabwe, which opens with three T20Is in Raipur from October 16. Her appointment came after a review meeting was held in Guwahati on Monday, featuring her, Harmanpreet, head coach Amol Muzumdar and BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia. Smriti, the left-handed opener, was also part of the selection meeting alongside the Amita Sharma-led selection panel to pick the two squads for the Zimbabwe series.

"Smriti does not need to step into Harman's shoes at all. She has experience leading India. The Guwahati games against England in 2019 were the first time she captained the team and, fortunately, she has had more time in a leadership role prior to becoming full-time captain than Harman or anyone else had.

"Smriti can chart her own territory. The challenges the Indian team currently faces are well known, and I am sure Smriti is aware of them. Her biggest challenge will be addressing those gaps, whether in T20Is or ODIs, and building on where the team has reached. All these players - Deepti, Smriti, Jemimah - reached this pedestal together. Now it's about taking it to the next level.

"It's like passing a baton in a relay: Smriti collected it cleanly while already on the run, so she has a head start. How that head start gets converted is how she will be measured in the present and future. How she uses her captaincy experience and her familiarity with this group, as well as the players coming in, to be the leader everyone looks up to for answers is what she will be judged on," Anjum told IANS in an exclusive conversation on Friday.

She also said she does not expect Smriti to replicate all of her predecessor's approach.

"If you weren't looking for a change, why did the change happen? I don't expect Smriti to be a clone of Harman, and nobody should be a clone. You take the best parts of every leader, bring them forward, and make them your own. Smriti has been around the Indian team for a long time now.

"She doesn't need to clone Harman; she needs to build on everything she has learned playing for India over the last 12 to 13 years. She has captaincy experience, high skill levels, and world travel under her belt. She knows the conditions and the opposition across the globe.

"The next step for her is deciding what takeaways to imbibe into her own decision-making and how to push the team forward. If every captain is identical and uses the same template, there is no need for change.

"No captain should be the same. They need to elevate the team beyond where it was when they received the baton, ensuring that by the time the next person takes over, the team has reached greater heights. That is how the sport progresses, and that is how players grow individually," she elaborated.

On how the squad will cope with the transition at the helm, Anjum felt it will be a gentle start considering Zimbabwe are set to play a bilateral series against India for the first time.

"It's not going to be simple for any player to adapt to that change. The good thing is the Indian team will have a little time to settle in, and I assume there will be a camp before the series starts.

"This series isn't against a world No. 1 side where tension is running high, so the players will have space and time to adjust. People in that dressing room will quickly realise they have to look in a different direction for instructions and guidance. Nobody needs to play the elder sister; everyone knows each other well enough, and the players will adapt as they always do.

"While you have different setups across formats, the captain remains the same for the T20I and ODI sides. How everyone shapes up moving toward the ICC Champions Trophy in India will be closely measured. Everyone has to start defining their own pathway. While the captain makes the ultimate decisions, every player in this team must understand their individual role before they step onto that path collectively."

Smriti, India's most prolific all-format batter, previously led India in four ODIs and 18 T20Is, besides captaining Maharashtra in domestic cricket. She guided Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to the Women's Premier League (WPL) title earlier this year after leading the franchise to its maiden crown in 2024.

In September, she went past Mithali Raj to become the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket across formats. Her 18 international hundreds are the most by any women's batter, and she is also the first Indian woman to score centuries in all three formats.

"When you become a full-time leader and start captaining the Indian team, it's the experiences you dwell upon. Smriti has built up a good amount of experience over the years. The WPL is a prime example. When you lead a franchise team in your own country and win titles, you learn a lot about yourself.

"She has had very good grooming to become a leader. That's why those statements came out saying she's ready for the captaincy. Someone without that background wouldn't say that; they'd simply say, 'I'm looking forward to the challenge.' The language and preparation change when you're ready.

"How she comes out as the leader of the Indian team is something we will all see. Whatever happened in the past is done. Now the job is clearly defined: you are the captain of the Indian team. What you make of it - the decisions, the preparation, the process - will be what we start analysing and measuring from here," concluded Anjum.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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