Delhi: A period of major change has begun in the Indian women's cricket team. After Harmanpreet Kaur left the captaincy of all formats, now Smriti Mandhana has been appointed as the new all-format captain of Team India. Mandhana's tenure will begin with the Zimbabwe tour, where the Indian team will start the campaign from October 16.

After becoming the captain, Smriti Mandhana first thanked Harmanpreet Kaur for her wonderful captaincy tenure. Mandhana said that playing under the leadership of Harmanpreet for the last 10 years was a great experience for her and now both of them together will try to achieve more successes for Indian cricket.

Smriti gave a special farewell to Harmanpreet

Smriti Mandhana wrote an emotional message for Harmanpreet through Instagram story. He said, “It has been a pleasure for me to play with you for so many years. Your 10 years of leadership have been a wonderful journey and now together we will try to achieve many more achievements for our country.”

This post of Mandhana has completely put an end to all those rumors of bitterness between her and Harmanpreet.

Let us tell you that the pair of Smriti and Harmanpreet have been together in Indian women's cricket for a long time. Now the role has definitely changed, but Harmanpreet will remain a part of the team and her experience will be very important for Smriti.

Why did Harmanpreet leave the captaincy?

Harmanpreet had announced leaving the captaincy through an Instagram post on Tuesday. He made it clear that this decision was not easy for him. According to him, during his captaincy, he many times put the needs of the team above his personal ambitions and performance.

Harmanpreet said that he had to take many difficult decisions under captaincy. Not every decision was always understood, but their purpose was to make the team better and give players a chance to progress.

Now Smriti faces a new challenge

After Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana will have the responsibility of taking the Indian women's team to the next level. Mandhana has already led Royal Challengers Bangalore to the Women's Premier League title in 2024 and 2026. In such a situation, the experience of captaincy is not new for him.

Now at the international level he will have to command the team in all three formats. The first big opportunity of his captaincy will start from the Zimbabwe tour.

Harmanpreet has handed over a strong team and a big legacy to Smriti. Now it remains to be seen how Smriti takes this responsibility forward and how many new memories she is able to add in the next chapter of Indian women's cricket.