Team India begin a new era under captain Smriti Mandhana as the Women in Blue take on Zimbabwe for the first time in international cricket in a three-match T20I series starting today in Raipur. Smriti Mandhana opened up about leading the Indian team, why Harmanpreet Kaur’s presence will be key in the dressing room, and India’s preparations for the ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027 at home.
Smriti Mandhana shared her thoughts on leading the national team and her immediate goals for the side:
“Personally, it’s a huge honour to represent a country where cricket is almost a religion. In a way, you always start playing cricket to play and win matches for India. Never thought of leading the team, but again, it’s a big responsibility because when you step into this role, you have a job to do, you have to deliver. I always say this, that though the captain’s name is first on the list, you’re always the last on the list in terms of keeping everyone ahead. I’ve been in the leadership group for a while now, but I definitely had written down a roadmap every time. The first thing which comes to my mind is the professionalism around it and trying to have this team go about things like a well-oiled machine. Like, taking our training, power-hitting, fielding and professionalism one notch higher. And, of course, setting a culture. You always take up this role to leave it in a way where you set a culture for the team, for the rest of the girls to follow. So, you don’t just do this for the sake of it.”
On former captain Harmanpreet Kaur:
“She’s led India, she’s the longest-serving captain, and has been such a great leader. So I’m sure that her experience, especially with a lot of youngsters coming into the team now, and the way she works towards the game, is going to be inspiring for a lot of people. And I hope they actually watch her, the way she goes about preparing for the game, and learn and take a lot of things from her. So, it’s going to be extremely important to have her around the youngsters for them to also groom in a way where sometimes it happens a year or two earlier when you watch someone and start learning from them.”
On the team’s build-up to the upcoming ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027:
“In the T20 format, we have six matches before the Champions Trophy. Of course, before that, the WPL will happen, but as an Indian team, three here and the three against South Africa for us to take it forward. So, it’s going to be extremely important to see what style of cricket you want to play, what brand of cricket you want to play, and who’s fitting where. So yeah, there will be a lot of takeaways from this series as well.”
On Shafali Verma being named her deputy in the T20I side:
“I think everybody knew when she came into the team, there’s something special about this kid. Because from the non-striker’s end, I think in the first series, which was against Australia, the way she dominated Australian bowlers, we all were like, ‘Wow, she’s some player.’ But to see her in the last six to 12 months, the kind of responsibility she’s taken as a batter, not only in the first six overs but after that, the way she’s built her innings in the middle overs, especially in the Asia Cup and Asian Games, has been outstanding. The way she showed maturity, I’m really, really happy for her, and I hope we both can take this team forward.”
On facing Zimbabwe for the first time in international cricket:
“In the Asia Cup and Asian Games, we played against quite a few new opponents, and it’s always exciting to play new teams. We also learn a lot of things from them in a way because they have a different approach. Because we play cricket almost all year round, sometimes we get very serious about cricket. But when you see these teams, they come out and, regardless of the result, they still go out there and enjoy themselves. So that’s something which we always try to learn from them as well. We don’t know a lot of players. We’ve watched a lot of videos of Zimbabwe players, but it’s quite exciting that it’s the first time. And having as many nations playing cricket is very good for the game going forward.”
