I Think The Captaincy Can Be Handed Over To Smriti Mandhana – Former India Coach WV Raman

Former India women’s team coach WV Raman has opined that India can hand over the captaincy of the Indian women’s team to Smriti Mandhana after the upcoming World Cup.

Recently, Star opener Smriti Mandhana smashed her maiden Test century against Australia in the Pink-ball Test match.

WV Raman reckons that captaincy has nothing to do with age and he believes that Smriti Mandhana is capable of leading the team.

“Captaincy has got nothing to do with age, but I am convinced that Mandhana can be the captain. She is a good reader of the game and has already played a few years of cricket,” Raman was quoted as saying by the PTI.

He further added that giving the captaincy responsibility to a youngster means she can lead the team for several years. WV Raman stated:

“It can be a good time and giving captaincy to a younger cricketer means they can lead the side for a stretch for some years.”

However, Raman acknowledged that this is not the right time to give the captaincy to Mandhana, but she can be given the responsibility after the upcoming World Cup despite the good or bad performance of the team.

“But this is not the right time for handing over the captaincy because of the upcoming World Cup. So just to hold on to whatever is happening in the recent past and perhaps, after the World Cup, regardless of the results, I think the captaincy can be handed over to Smriti Mandhana,” he added.

Currently, Veteran batter Mithali Raj is the captain of the team India in Test cricket and ODI cricket. Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Kaur is the T20I skipper.

Unlike The South Africa Series Or The England Series, They Are Far Better Prepared For Australia – WV Raman

Meanwhile, Raman feels that the Indian women’s team is prepared for the upcoming T20 series against Australia, more than they were prepared for England or South Africa series. He stated:

“All this helps cricketers to be in touch with the game against high-quality teams and players but the entire dynamics is different be it in terms of conditions or be it in terms of approach everything is different. “But I can see your point. Unlike the South Africa series at home or perhaps the England series they are far better prepared for Australia because they have international series under their belt,” said Raman while replying to a query from ANI in a virtual press conference.

Talking about the reason behind better preparation Raman said it is due to the team playing two international series and The Hundred league.

“For the girls who have done well, they will be confident, for the girls who have come in will be very excited to play international cricket. In one sentence, they are better prepared because of having played two international series as well as the fact that some went and played The Hundred format which made sure they were in touch with the game,” he added.

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