"Smriti Mandhana is a deserving candidate": Madan Lal backs her for India women's captaincy

Harmanpreet has stepped down as the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all formats. She announced her decision in a post on Instagram on Tuesday. Harmanpreet's decision comes after she guided India to the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026.

After Indian batter Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the country's all-format captaincy, former Indian cricketer Madan Lal hailed the batter for her role in taking women's cricket forward significantly and put the name forward of opener Smriti Mandhana as her successor. Harmanpreet has stepped down as the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all formats. She announced her decision in a post on Instagram on Tuesday. Harmanpreet's decision comes after she guided India to the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026.

Speaking to ANI about her decision, Madan Lal said, "This is her personal decision. Whenever anyone leaves the game, they take such a decision after proper thought and consideration. But we should appreciate her, as she has performed really well, taken women's cricket forward significantly, won a World Cup, and her individual performance has also been quite good. I wish her the best of luck. The main thing is that she has helped women's cricket a lot." Madan, a 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder, named a red-hot Smriti as a "deserving candidate", with the current Indian vice-captain enjoying a rich vein of form and a significant amount of experience. Having captained India in the absence of Harmanpreet several times, she has also won two Women's Premier League (WPL) titles as a captain for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

"Most likely, though I am not a selector, Smriti Mandhana is a deserving candidate because of her good performance, experience, and the large number of matches she has played. Individual performance is crucial in international cricket," he said. On whether opening batter Shafali Verma could be chosen as T20I skipper given her red-hot run and her understanding of the format, he said, "The selectors would know better because they watch the matches closely and can judge whether someone has leadership qualities or not. It depends on the selectors."

Harmanpreet said the decision was not easy and reflected years of memories, emotions and sacrifices during her time as captain. She said she had given everything to the team and Indian women's cricket, at times putting aside her individual performance, personal growth and ambitions for the team's interests. “Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team across all formats. This is not an easy decision. It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices, and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket — my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions. There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first,” Kaur said in the Instagram post.

Harmanpreet Kaur's most notable achievement as captain came in 2025, when she led India to their maiden ODI World Cup title. Harmanpreet said she had to make difficult decisions as captain, often at a personal cost, but always with the aim of improving the team and helping players grow and reach their potential.

“As a captain, I have had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that were not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost. But every decision I made was with one intention - to make this TEAM better and to give other players the opportunity to grow, believe in themselves and become the best versions of themselves,” she said. Harmanpreet said her captaincy journey included both difficult and triumphant moments, but she leaves the role with peace, pride and a belief that the team is in a strong position. She said she had fulfilled her duty, gave everything to Indian women's cricket and would continue to remain committed to the team despite stepping down as captain.

“I have seen it all. I have seen the lowest moments, the heartbreak, the criticism, the doubts and the days when nothing seemed to go our way. And I have also experienced the highest highs - the victories, the celebrations, the pride of representing our country, and the moments that made every sacrifice worth it. I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions, but also with PEACE. Because I genuinely believe my team is in a good place. A team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am incredibly excited to watch and be a part of . I feel I have done my duty. I gave this team everything I had. I carried the responsibility with pride, and I will always be grateful for the privilege of leading Indian women’s cricket. Now, it is time for me to turn the page. Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will,” she said further in her post. Harmanpreet thanked her teammates, coaches, support staff, management, BCCI, family and fans for their support, saying she had given her all and was now ready to continue playing for the love of the game.

“Thank you to every teammate, coach, support staff, management, BCCI, family members every single fan who stood by me through the highs and lows. Blood. Sweat. Sacrifice. Pride. I gave it all. Now, I’m ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues,” she said. Harmanpreet first took charge of India in T20Is in 2016 before becoming the team’s full-time ODI and Test captain in 2022, following the retirement of legendary skipper Mithali Raj. Four years later, she leaves the role with a piece of history that few Indian captains can claim.

Her World Cup triumph placed her alongside Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni as only the third Indian captain to win a 50-over World Cup. She has since joined an even more exclusive club. She is one of only five Indian captains to have lifted a World Cup, alongside Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, who led India to T20 World Cup glory in 2024 and 2026, respectively. Harmanpreet's influence was perhaps most pronounced in the shortest format. She captained India to the semi-finals of the 2018 and 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cups and guided the side to the final in 2020, where India finished runners-up.

Her longevity as a T20I captain is equally remarkable. Kaur led India in 155 T20Is, becoming the first captain in international cricket, male or female, to lead a team in more than 150 matches in the format. Her final assignment as captain ended on another high, with India securing a second consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games, following their triumph in 2023. While the World Cup victory will forever stand as the crowning achievement of Kaur’s captaincy, her leadership journey has been marked by several other significant milestones.

She led India in five Tests and 51 ODIs, in addition to her record 155 T20Is. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she guided India to a silver medal, producing a memorable 65-run knock in the final. Her innings ultimately went in vain as Australia claimed the gold, but it underlined the competitive spirit that defined her captaincy. Across formats, Kaur's leadership helped take Indian women's cricket through a period of growing ambition, greater global visibility and landmark success.

She became the captain who finally delivered India's first Women's Cricket World Cup title. She became a two-time Asian Games gold-medal-winning captain. She led India through multiple deep runs in T20 World Cups and established a record for captaincy appearances in the format that may stand for years. (ANI)