Not Smriti Mandhana, Sourav Ganguly picks this star to captain Team India after Harmanpreet Kaur

Legendary India cricketer Sourav Ganguly believes that wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh is the right person to eventually take over captaincy from Harmanpreet Kaur. Though Smriti Mandhana is the one who has been tipped to become the Women in Blue's next leader, Ganguly has added a new name to the mix in Richa, who is only 22 years old but already has quite a lot of experience when it comes to white-ball cricket.

Richa's international career so far

Richa has played 51 ODIs and 67 T20Is, scoring 1145 and 1067 runs respectively. She had a decent World Cup campaign with the bat, scoring 235 runs in 8 innings of the ODI World Cup. Her best knock of the tournament came during India's league stage clash against South Africa where she played a superb innings of 94 to carry the side to a fighting total of 251 runs. Though the Women in Blue eventually went on to lose the match, Richa showed immense maturity throughout her innings and delivered when her team needed it the most.

“The World Cup triumph is a special, special win and only Richa can tell us what that feels like. Your career has just begun. Women’s cricket will grow massively in the next four to six years, and there will be more opportunities. I hope you make the most of them and one day, like Jhulan, we’ll stand here and say: ‘Richa — India captain’. You’re just 22… You’ve got time. All blessings and heartiest congratulations," Ganguly said, as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Ganguly on Richa's batting position

Ganguly further pointed out how batting lower down the order is not an easy task, but Richa makes the difference while playing in the same role. He also stated that her contributions with the bat are nothing less to that of Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues.

“The role she plays batting lower down the order is very difficult. You get fewer balls, but you have to score the most runs. People may remember Jemimah’s 127 not out or Harmanpreet’s 89 in the semifinals, but Richa’s strike rate of 130-plus made the difference. What she’s done so simply is equal in value to Smriti or Harman," Ganguly stated.

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Meanwhile, Richa has now been a regular member of India's white-ball set-up for quite some time now. Despite coming out to bat down the order, she has played multiple memorable knocks and has been a key player for the team in both ODIs and T20Is. She will be hoping to maintain her form in the Women in Blue's upcoming white-ball assignments..