Former India captain Anjum Chopra believes Smriti Mandhana should not feel compelled to emulate Harmanpreet Kaur as she takes charge of the Indian women’s cricket team across formats, stressing that the new skipper must develop her own leadership style and take the side to greater heights.
Smriti was appointed India’s full-time captain across formats on the day Harmanpreet stepped down after leading the team for nearly a decade. Her first assignment in the role will be the home series against Zimbabwe, beginning with three T20Is in Raipur from October 16, followed by three ODIs in Vadodara.
Speaking to IANS, Chopra said Smriti had sufficient leadership experience to approach the responsibility with confidence, adding that her task would be to address the team’s existing shortcomings while building on its progress.
“Smriti does not need to step into Harman’s shoes at all. She has experience leading India — Guwahati games against England in 2019 was 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,” Chopra said.
She compared the transition to a relay race, saying Smriti had received the baton while already running and therefore had a head start. How effectively she converts that advantage into results, she added, would determine how her captaincy is judged.
Chopra said Smriti’s immediate challenge would be to identify and address the gaps in India’s T20I and ODI setups while helping established players such as Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues take the team forward.
The former skipper also cautioned against expecting Smriti to reproduce Harmanpreet’s leadership approach, arguing that a change of captain should bring fresh thinking and a distinct vision.
“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,” she said.
Chopra pointed to Smriti’s experience of representing India for 12 to 13 years, her familiarity with international conditions and opposition teams, and her previous captaincy assignments as important assets. She also said the opener could draw valuable lessons from leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to Women’s Premier League (WPL) titles, including the franchise’s maiden championship in 2024.
According to Chopra, successful leadership involves taking a team beyond the level at which the previous captain left it, creating a stronger foundation for whoever takes over next.
On the team’s adjustment to the leadership change, Chopra said the Zimbabwe series could offer a relatively comfortable starting point. With India facing Zimbabwe in a bilateral women’s series for the first time, she expects the players to have time to adapt to the new arrangement before facing more demanding challenges.
She added that the team would need to establish clear individual responsibilities, with every player understanding her role even as the captain makes the final decisions.
Smriti has previously captained India in four ODIs and 18 T20Is and led Maharashtra in domestic cricket. Her success with RCB in the WPL has further strengthened her leadership credentials.
In September, she surpassed Mithali Raj to become the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket across formats. Her 18 international centuries are also the most by a woman batter, and she is the first Indian woman to score hundreds in all three international formats.
Chopra said Smriti’s experience and preparation had helped equip her for the responsibility, but stressed that the real assessment of her leadership would begin now.
“What you make of it — the decisions, the preparation, the process — will be what we start analysing and measuring from here,” she said.
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