IND W vs AUS W: Will Smriti Mandhana replace Harmanpreet Kaur as India's T20I captain?

The Indian Women's cricket team has had a great tour of Australia so far. Even though they lost the ODI series, India staged a great fightback in the third and final ODI as they successfully chased down a stiff total of 265 to snap Meg Lanning and Co's 26-match unbeaten streak. The Indian team then did an outstanding job in the one-off pink-ball Test match which also happened to be their first-ever Test match under lights. 

Smriti Mandhana scored a stellar 127 as the match ended in a draw after the Indian bowlers made the hosts toil hard with the ball in hand. Talking about Mandhana, it has been rumoured that she could lead India in the upcoming T20I series.

IND W vs AUS W T20I series: Will Smriti Mandhana replace Harmanpreet Kaur?

As of now, it is yet to be confirmed by the team management regarding who will be leading the Indian Women's Cricket team in the shortest format but former Indian women's team coach WV Raman reckons that Smriti Mandhana should be handed over the Indian captaincy after the upcoming Women's World Cup regardless of the result in the quadrennial event.

"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 few years of cricket. 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", said WV Raman during a virtual interaction. as quoted by PTI.

"But this is not the right time for handing over captaincy because of the upcoming World Cup. So just to hold on to whatever is happening in 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, Harmanpreet Kaur is the Indian women's team's T20I skipper whereas, Mithali Raj continues to lead them in the Test and ODI formats.

Australia women vs India women: Harmanpreet Kaur injury

Harmanpreet Kaur was ruled out from the recently-concluded one-off Day-Night Test match due to a thumb injury that she had suffered during the practice session ahead of the ODIs. Following the injury, she did not feature in the three-match ODI series either. Meanwhile, Mithali Raj hoped that Kaur would be fit to take the field in the T20Is.

"I am sure she (Harmanpreet Kaur) will take the field in the T20 format", said Raj during the post-match interview of the pink ball Test match.

India vs Australia T20

The final leg of the ongoing tour Down Under comprises three T20Is which will be played on October 7, October 9 and October 10 at the Metricon Stadium in Queensland's Carrara Oval. The Indian team would be looking to sign off by being on the winning side in the shortest format of the game. At the same time, they would also be eager to avenge last year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 final loss.