Harmanpreet Kaur-Smriti Mandhana rift: Report reveals duo werent seeing eye to eye, captaincy became flashpoint
The captaincy issue reportedly created some tension between the two senior players and also caused unease within the dressing room.
PTC News Desk: Smriti Mandana has been named captain of the Indian women's cricket team after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the position across all formats and it was a no brainer that the former would take charge of the team.
However it was anything but a smooth affair in change of guard what appeared from outside. According to a report, the change in captaincy comes after alleged differences between Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana. The captaincy issue reportedly created some tension between the two senior players and also caused unease within the dressing room.
Also Read: Smriti Mandhana named Indian women's cricket captain after Harmanpreet Kaur steps down
Harmanpreet decided to step down as captain following a review meeting with the BCCI. The 37-year-old from Moga had been leading India since 2016 and ended her captaincy on a high after guiding the team to a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal in Japan.
Mandhana, 30, has been one of India's leading batters for several years. Since making her international debut in 2013, the left-hander has scored more than 10,000 runs across formats. Known for her timing and elegant batting, she has also added more power to her game in recent years.
Captaincy change had been expected
The possibility of Mandhana taking over as captain had been discussed for some time.
According to the report, Mandhana was unhappy that the selectors continued with the existing leadership setup even after India won the ODI World Cup at home last year.
In a recent interview, Mandhana indicated that she was ready to captain India. After India's Asian Games victory, she also spoke about the need for the team to focus on winning bigger tournaments.
Questions over the captaincy increased following India's disappointing performances in T20 cricket. Early exits from successive T20 World Cups put Harmanpreet's leadership, particularly in the shortest format, under greater scrutiny.
However, the selectors initially decided against making an immediate change.
The situation reportedly changed during a review meeting in Guwahati chaired by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia. Harmanpreet was reportedly informed that a leadership change was likely, following which she decided to step down.
The captaincy issue had also reportedly created tension between Harmanpreet and Mandhana, despite the two sharing a good relationship in the past.
Former India captain Mithali Raj had also weighed in on the leadership debate following India's T20 World Cup exit in the UK earlier this year. She said the selectors should have given the ODI captaincy to Mandhana two or three years earlier and suggested that a younger player such as Shafali Verma could have been considered for the T20 captaincy.