Mumbai: India begin a new chapter under captain Smriti Mandhana as the Women in Blue face Zimbabwe for the first time in international cricket. The three-match T20I series starts in Raipur. On JioStar’s Follow the Blues: The Dawn of Captain Smriti, Mandhana spoke about leading the side, why Harmanpreet Kaur’s presence matters in the dressing room, and how India are preparing for the ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027 at home.
On leading India
Mandhana called it a huge honour to represent a country where cricket is almost a religion. She said every player starts out dreaming of winning matches for India, and that captaincy was never something she planned for. Now that it has come, she sees it as a big responsibility, one where the captain’s name may be first on the team sheet but the captain must put everyone else first. She has been part of the leadership group for some time and has a written roadmap. Her priorities are professionalism and making the team run like a well-oiled machine, with training, power-hitting and fielding all lifted a notch. Beyond that, she wants to build a culture that the rest of the squad can carry forward.
On Harmanpreet Kaur
Mandhana praised Harmanpreet as India’s longest-serving captain and a great leader. With many youngsters entering the team, she believes Harmanpreet’s experience and her way of preparing for games will be inspiring. Mandhana hopes the younger players watch her closely and learn from her, since observing someone like that can speed up a player’s growth by a year or two.
On the road to the Champions Trophy
India have six T20Is before the Champions Trophy, three against Zimbabwe and three against South Africa, with the WPL coming in between. Mandhana said these games will help the team decide what style of cricket to play and who fits where. She expects plenty of takeaways from this series.
On Shafali Verma as vice-captain
Mandhana said everyone could tell Shafali was special from early on. She recalled watching from the non-striker’s end as Shafali dominated Australia’s bowlers in her first series. Over the last six to twelve months, she said, Shafali has taken on more responsibility, building innings through the middle overs and not just the powerplay, especially at the Asia Cup and Asian Games. Mandhana praised her maturity, said she is very happy for her, and hopes the two can take the team forward together.
On facing Zimbabwe
India met several new opponents at the Asia Cup and Asian Games, and Mandhana enjoys the chance to learn from teams with a different approach. Because India play almost all year round, she said, players can become very serious about the game, whereas newer teams tend to play freely and enjoy themselves whatever the result, which is something she wants her team to pick up. India have studied videos of the Zimbabwe players but know little about them, which adds to the excitement. She also feels that more nations playing cricket is good for the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=RtToJsBhYBatUrym&v=mOuYNSdhjHA&feature=youtu.be
