Smriti Mandhana says captaincy is not a new challenge

New captain of the Indian women's team Smriti Madhana has made it clear that the responsibility of full-fledged leadership is not a new challenge for her. She expressed confidence that she has been in the team as a vice-captain for almost a decade and this experience will come in handy now. She made it clear that the captaincy will not burden her batting. 

The BCCI appointed 29-year-old Mandhana as the captain of the Indian team earlier this month, the same day that Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the captaincy. In this context, Mandhana, who recently spoke to reporters, reacted to her new role. "I have been the vice-captain for the last 10 years. So I am still a part of the leadership team. So I will not say that this is completely new for me. It is definitely a good opportunity. I hope I can do justice to this role," she said.

Mandhana stressed that the captaincy will not change her batting. "Even though I am the captain on the field, there is no change in my batting. I don't hesitate to play a shot if the ball is in the zone. I play whatever the team needs. I still remember what my coach told me when I was 15. 'When you bat, consider yourself the captain and take responsibility.' That idea has never changed," she explained.

Speaking about the upcoming Zimbabwe series, Mandhana said it is an exciting opportunity for them. "We are playing Zimbabwe for the first time. We can also learn a lot from them. Sometimes when we play against associate nations, they enjoy cricket without any pressure. We have six T20 matches before the Champions Trophy. So, in the next three months, we will set our standards as an Indian team," Mandhana explained. Mandhana, who finished as the second-highest scorer in the 2025 ODI World Cup with 434 runs, created a record by becoming the first Indian women's cricketer to score centuries in all three formats that same year.