Former India cricketer Mithali Raj believes it’s time for Harmanpreet Kaur to step down as captain after India’s failure to reach the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals, following losses to New Zealand and Australia.
Mithali supports Jemimah Rodrigues as the new captain, citing her youth and energy.
“If the selectors decide to change, I would go for a young captain. This is the time [to change]; if you delay more, we have another [ODI] World Cup on the horizon [October 2025]. Smriti is there, but I think someone like Jemimah, she’s 24, she’s young, she will serve you more. And [she] is someone who I feel on the field gets that energy. She speaks to everybody. I was very impressed by her in this tournament,” Mithali revealed.
Mithali also criticized the team’s lack of progress under current management. “In the last two-three years, I’ve not really seen any growth in this team. Beating the best side is what you always prepare for, but it seems we’re saturated in the sense we are beating other teams, and we’re pretty happy in that. Every other team has shown growth despite limited depth, a case in point being South Africa. We have not.”
Regarding fitness, Mithali stressed the need for consistent standards, especially after questions were raised about Richa Ghosh and Shafali Verma’s fitness against Australia.
“In terms of fitness, we need to have a benchmark. Honestly, how much can you work in a month? It’s something that you do around the year. It’s not like just before the tournament, you have a camp and it’s just going to really show the difference on the field,” Mithali added.