Smriti Mandhana Appointed as New Captain of the Indian Women's Cricket Team

The BCCI has named Smriti Mandhana as the new captain of the Indian women's cricket team. The announcement came on 6th October, 2026, the same day Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the role.

Smriti Mandhana Replaces Harmanpreet Kaur as India Captain

Harmanpreet, who led India to the 2025 ODI World Cup title, gave up the captaincy in all formats. Reports link her decision to a BCCI review meeting in Guwahati, where the team's recent results were discussed. These included India's exit before the semifinals of the T20 World Cup.

What the BCCI Said About Smriti Mandhana Appointed as New Captain?

The board called Mandhana, one of the leading figures of Indian women's cricket, who has helped the team progress in every format. It also praised her leadership in domestic and franchise cricket. She led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to Women's Premier League (WPL) titles in 2024 and 2026.

Mandhana was Harmanpreet's deputy and has played for India since 2013. She will now be the full-time white-ball captain. Before this, she had led India in 18 T20Is and four ODIs.

Smriti Mandhana Career

Early Life and Debut

Smriti Shriniwas Mandhana was born on 18 July 1996 in Mumbai. She is a left-handed opening batter who also bowls right-arm medium. She debuted for Maharashtra at just 13 and was captaining the side by 16.

Her India debut came in 2013 in a T20I against Bangladesh, and her ODI debut followed five days later. She played her first Test in 2014 against England at Wormsley and scored a fifty.

Records and Achievements

1. She is the first Indian woman to score international centuries in all three formats. Her T20I hundred came against England in June 2025.
2. In 2024, she scored 1,659 international runs, breaking Belinda Clark's 28-year-old record for most runs in a calendar year.
3. In 2025, she became the first woman to cross 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year.
4. She hit five ODI hundreds in 2025, equalling the record of Tazmin Brits for most in a year.
5. She scored 434 runs at the 2025 World Cup, the second-highest total in the tournament, including a 50-ball century against England.
6. She has played in leagues such as the BBL and The Hundred.
7. In 2024, she captained RCB to their first-ever title, men's or women's.