Former India Women’s National Cricket Team skipper Shantha Rangaswamy has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to sack Harmanpreet Kaur as captain after the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 triumph.
Rangaswamy wants the BCCI to give the same treatment to Harmanpreet Kaur, which they gave to Rohit Sharma, and appoint Smriti Mandhana as the new captain of the India Women’s National Cricket Team.
But tactically, she can fumble at times – Shantha Rangaswamy on Harmanpreet Kaur
In the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, Harmanpreet Kaur-led India Women beat South Africa Women by 52 runs to clinch the ICC title.
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It was the first-ever World Cup won by the India Women’s National Cricket Team, thanks to the contribution of each and every player in the team. After winning, the BCCI decided to honor the achievement of the team and announced a prize money of INR 51 Crore.
A day after India’s triumph, Shantha Rangaswamy has stated that Harmanpreet Kaur makes quite a lot of blunders in the field, and it’s about time she steps down from captaincy and plays solely as a batter.
“It’s overdue. Because Harman, as a batter and a fielder, is brilliant. Yes. But tactically, she can fumble at times. I feel she can contribute more if she’s without the burden of captaincy. See, when it comes after a success like this (World Cup win), it will not be taken well. But in the interest of Indian cricket and in Harman’s own interest, I think she can contribute much more as a batter without the burden of captaincy,” she said, as quoted by PTI.
In case Harmanpreet Kaur is removed from captaincy, it will be the same situation that happened with Rohit Sharma, who was sacked as ODI skipper after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph.
Smriti should be made captain across formats – Shantha Rangaswamy
Rangaswamy further said that Smriti Mandhana is the ideal candidate to lead the India Women’s across formats and plan for the next World Cups. She said:
“She still has three to four years of big-time cricket left. Not being captain would allow her to do that. Smriti should be made captain across formats. You need to plan for future World Cups as well.”
She added that bowling and fielding are the areas of concern for the Indian women’s team, and they need to make improvements. She said:
“In our days, batting used to be the weaker link. Now batting has a settled look, but bowling is a concern. Fielding too can be a lot better.”
Australia lost only because they did not have a good bowling attack – Shantha Rangaswamy
While talking about India’s historic win over Australia Women’s in the semi-final, Rangaswamy stated the Aussies didn’t have good bowlers in the team.
“Australia lost only because they did not have a good bowling attack. I would say Pakistan and Bangladesh had better bowling attacks. The batters did the job for us,” said Rangaswamy.
Rangaswamy also said that the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 triumph will inspire many young girls to take up cricket.
“Ten years down the line, you will see the massive impact of this win. This will inspire millions to take up the sport,” she said.
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