India will host the six-team T20 tournament at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and the BCA Stadium in Vadodara from February 14 to 28. She succeeded Harmanpreet Kaur as captain. Newly appointed captain Smriti Mandhana on Wednesday said India may have won the ODI World Cup recently, but the team still needs to work hard in the shortest format, with the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy set to be held early next year. Mandhana is set to lead India in her first assignment as full-time captain when the hosts take on Zimbabwe in a three-match T20I series starting on Friday, followed by three ODIs in Vadodara.
“I have been the vice-captain for almost 10 years. 3 in the Asian Games,” Mandhana said. Because they enjoy playing their cricket, “Sometimes, playing against Zimbabwe and other Associate nations, it feels like you can learn a lot from them as well.
Mandhana said India would look to make the most of the six T20Is ahead of the Women’s Champions Trophy. It is our first time playing them,” Mandhana told reporters. Mandhana said there were several areas in which the Indian team needed to improve in the shortest format. “We have won the World Cup in the last one-and-a-half years, but there were a few things we needed to work on in the T20 format, especially,” she said. Mandhana said she had been part of India’s leadership group for a long time and that full-time captaincy would not be an entirely new challenge. But, for sure, it is something to look forward to and hopefully I can do justice to the role,” Mandhana said. “We have a lot of options and I am really positive that they will do well,” she added. Mandhana said the discussion centred on how to take Indian cricket forward. “And what should be the approach for the next two to three years because we have a lot of major tournaments coming up,” she added.
“The first bilateral series with Zimbabwe, I think, is very exciting. “Sometimes, we get caught up in a lot of things professionally. You can learn a lot from them. “But I would say our strength has been the players who have come in. They have done extremely well. On the first day, I wouldn’t really want to talk about weaknesses. “There are a lot of things we need to work on. We need a lot of things to fall into place. So, I have been part of the leadership group and I wouldn’t say it is an entirely new thing. The India captain expressed confidence in the young talent coming through the ranks. “Jemimah (Rodrigues) has been injured for the last two months. But I think we have some exciting players. Anushka (Sharma) and Niki (Prasad), who have done really well for India A, and of course G Kamalini, who batted at No. “We had a meeting a day before. The conversation was about how to take Indian cricket forward,” Mandhana replied when asked if she knew beforehand that she would be appointed captain.
But again, we have six T20 matches before the Champions Trophy as an Indian team, so we will look to set standards as to how we approach the next three months leading up to the Champions Trophy,” Mandhana added. Mandhana was part of a review meeting with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, head coach Amol Muzumdar and Harmanpreet Kaur a day before the former captain stepped down from the role across formats. But I think today is the day to talk about good and positive things,” Mandhana said.
My coach used to tell me when I was 15 years old, ‘Whenever you bat, always think you are the captain. I will still play whatever way the team needs me to,” Mandhana added. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Earlier reporting noted: India women’s cricket team captain Smriti Mandhana wants to use the upcoming six-match series against Zimbabwe to fine-tune the team’s T20I approach and establish clear standards ahead of the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in February 2027. Earlier reporting noted: The series will mark Mandhana’s first assignment as India’s full-time captain, with the hosts beginning their campaign with three T20Is from October 16, followed by three ODIs.
Because they enjoy playing their cricket,” Mandhana told reporters, it is our first time playing with them, Sometimes, playing with Zimbabwe and all the Associate nations, it feels like you can learn a lot from them as well. Mandhana hoped the captaincy would have no impact on her batting. “I have become captain on the field; there should be no changes in my batting. “You always take that responsibility, and those things have never changed. If the ball is in the zone, I will still go for it. India will look to use the series to assess their combinations and address areas that need improvement in the shortest format.
Earlier reporting noted: “The first bilateral (series) with Zimbabwe, I think, it is very exciting.
