Mithali Raj advocates split captaincy: Smriti Mandhana for Tests and ODIs, Shafali Verma for T20Is

Former captain Mithali Raj has urged India to adopt split captaincy, backing Smriti Mandhana for Tests and ODIs while proposing Shafali Verma for T20Is. Raj criticized the team's poor fitness standards and the lack of a leadership pipeline

New Delhi: Smriti Mandhana is more suited to lead India in the longer formats after Harmanpreet Kaur’s tenure ends while the much younger Shafali Varma can be handed the reins of the T20 side following another pre-mature exit from the World Cup, former captain legendary Mithali Raj said. Harmanpreet, 37, led India to a pathbreaking ODI World Cup title last year but under her leadership, the team has not been able to crack the code in ICC events in the T20 format, dating back to 2018.

The selectors may finally move on from her following the Asian Games in Japan in September-October.

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In an interview with PTI, women’s cricket icon Mithali said time has come to groom more leaders in the national set up, she also wants more clarity over players’ roles in the side and improvement in the fitness department that is adversely impacting India’s pace attack and fielding, which was way below par in the recent T20 World Cup.

“Yes, we did not qualify for the semifinals for the second time in a row but that cannot be the only reason or criteria to come to conclusion that you need to change the leader. Because I believe that there are few boxes that one need to actually see if the player ticks those boxes.

“One is, of course, the fitness, I feel is very important. Harman in the last two, three years, you see the physio quite often on the ground, every game, when she’s playing, there are few games that she was unavailable. So, you obviously would want your captain to be fit and available for all games. And unfortunately, all of us age, so she’s not the fittest,” said Mithali.

Mithali said Harmanpreet has also been inconsistent with the bat over the past three to four years..

“If you see Harman’s form in the three World Cups, the Dubai T20 World Cup, the ODI World Cup, and the recently concluded T20 World Cup (in UK), we’ve seen that a pattern is that, she gets those 15, 20 runs but it always takes her three to four games to get her 50 in the World Cup.

“And the third factor is that, you know, does she fit into the scheme of things in the next cycle of your One Day World Cup or a T20 World Cup? So, I think whoever is in the position to take this decision have to factor these things,” one of India’s greatest woman batter to have graced the game, said.

“And if you’re thinking that only because the T20 World Cup hasn’t gone well for India, then there is a change needs to happen there. Even the coach (Amol Muzumdar) is accountable because both captain and coach take the decisions of the playing XI.”

On the road ahead for the Indian team across formats, Mithali wants the seasoned Smriti to lead the Test and ODI teams even though she should have got the opportunity long time ago. For the T20 format, Shafali and Jemimah Rodrigues are the two options India have, said Mithali.

“I at least thought Smriti would lead the ODI format two, three years back. But now also, with the experience that she has, the vast experience, at least the one-day and Test format should be given to her and perhaps the T20 to someone younger, I feel, in the T20 format. But one day, clearly, you need experience.”

“For T20Is, I think Shefali. Her format is T20Is. And she has led under-19 World Cup. Why not Shefali? Jemi too of course, yes. She has led in the WPL. But I do believe that whoever they pick, they need to give them some time to settle. Because all of us got time to settle in our role as a leader,” said Mithali.

The 43-year-old who captained India to the 2017 ODI World Cup final feels the team management and selectors have not done much to groom more leaders in the senior team and even at the India A level.

“Since the start of the Under-19 World Cup, honestly, I’ve not seen any Under-19 player being groomed for the leadership role. And that is where I believe that growth is not just giving players opportunity in the 15 or in the 11. Growth is also about adding players into the leadership group.

“So far, the leadership group for the longest time has been these two (Harman and Smriti). But we’ve never had a third person who we can think that, okay, this person can lead in their absence. And sadly, that’s where we are at the moment. But I would like to also state that I was able to lead for so long as BCCI invested in me, same way like it did in Harman.

“Shafali Verma led India to U-19 World Cup title but she was not given leadership role. Why? Ditto for Niki Prasad, who should have been made India A skipper. So, I don’t understand the thought process here. We don’t have a roadmap. We don’t think about two years down the lane, where do you see Indian team? We are only thinking about series to series. We don’t have a long-term plan,” said Mithali, the leading run getter in Women’s ODIs.

On pace bowlers breaking down frequently and the below par fielding seen in the recent ICC, Mithali said both those issues were linked to fitness. In the batting department, she would be want to see more finishers like Richa Ghosh to be developed.

“Fast bowling is obviously a skill which also goes hand-in-hand with fitness. And I believe, sometimes we pick players when they are still growing (in experience). Apart from the skill, they’re still understanding what is the fitness regime as a fast bowler that you need to go through or you need to follow.

“As far as fielding is concerned, it also boils down to your individual training. Like all of us, when we go back home, we are all focusing on our batting, on our bowling. But not particularly on fielding. We only do that when we come into the camps. There might be some players who would be working on their fielding. But as a team, if we want to do well, we need to give equal attention to all departments.”