In a series of surprising events, former India women's captain Diana Edulji has urged the BCCI to revamp the Women's team's leadership hierarchy by appointing different captains for different formats of the game. Additionally, she also suggested that Harmanpreet Kaur should be relieved of the captaincy duties across all the formats, saying that the split captaincy would work in the favor of the team.
Diana Edulji makes big claim on Harmanpreet Kaur
While appearing at the trophy unveiling ceremony of the Maharani Trophy KSCA T20 in Bengaluru on July 20, the icon asserted that Harmanpreet's batting ability has witnessed a serious decline because of the captaincy and believes that the transition had been delayed for long.
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“I believe Harmanpreet is finding it difficult as captain. Her game is getting affected, so let her have a free hand as a batter. She used to be a great all-rounder, but then she limited herself to only batting. However, now we see her batting getting affected as well. I believe it’s been too long; we need to allow younger players to lead," said Edulji.
While adding, Edulji went on to suggest that India should consider adopting the split-captaincy model, and separate coaching staff across different formats.
“I recommend a split captaincy. Even a system with three different coaches would benefit us. It’s very important to bring in fresh ideas and get out of our comfort zone," said
Towards the end, Edulji backed Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma as the potential candidates to replace Harmanpreet as the captain of the side.
“We definitely have talent, namely Smriti and Shafali. We need to train these cricketers to lead moving forward,
Harmanpreet Kaur's underwhelming campaign in Women's T20 World Cup
Harmanpreet Kaur endured a mixed individual campaign at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in England, capped by India's disappointing group-stage elimination. Across five games, the India skipper amassed only 141 runs, struggling to find success in the anchoring role.
Early in the competition, she anchored crucial phases with steady knocks, such as her 36 off 35 balls against Pakistan, attracting criticisms for her slow pace. However, she saved her best for India's last group game against Australia, smashing 56 off just 27 balls. Despite her explosive late-tournament effort to push the run rate, it was not enough to claim a semifinal spot.