The Indian women’s cricket team made a splash in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025. In the final match at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, the team, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, defeated South Africa by 52 runs.
This is India’s first Women’s World Cup trophy, friends! Every player performed brilliantly, and the BCCI announced a prize of ₹51 crore in celebration. But just a day after the victory, a major surprise occurred.
Former captain Shantha Rangaswamy bluntly told the BCCI to remove Harmanpreet from the captaincy.
She said that Harman is excellent at batting and fielding, but sometimes falters in her strategy.
Give Harman the ‘Rohit treatment,’ hand the reins to Smriti
Shanta told PTI, “It has come late. Because Harman is outstanding as a batter and fielder. Yes, but tactically, she can falter at times. I think without the burden of captaincy, she can contribute even more.
See, when it comes after this kind of success (World Cup win), it won’t be taken well. But in the interest of Indian cricket and Harman’s own interest, I think she can contribute a lot more as a batter without the burden of captaincy.”
This means that this decision will be bitter after the victory, but it is necessary for the good of the team.
She wants the BCCI to do the same with Harman as they did with Rohit Sharma, removing him from the ODI captaincy post after winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
And now the new captain? Shanta has her eyes on Smriti Mandhana. She says Smriti should be given the reins in all formats.
She said, “She has three to four big years of cricket left. She won’t be able to do that without being captain. Smriti should be made captain in all formats. You need to plan for the next World Cup as well.”
Smriti can also plan for the next World Cup; this will be to her advantage. Shanta also said that the team’s bowling and fielding are currently weak links.
“In our times, batting used to be the weak link. Now batting is strong, but bowling is a concern. Fielding can be much better too.”
On defeating Australia in the semi-finals, she said, “Australia lost only because their bowling attack wasn’t good. I’d say Pakistan and Bangladesh had better bowling attacks. Our batters performed well.”
Shanta believes this victory will attract millions of girls to cricket.
She said, “In ten years, you’ll see the broader impact of this win. It will inspire millions to take up the sport.”
It will be interesting to see what decision the BCCI takes now.
