Smriti Mandhana Pays Heartfelt Tribute to Harmanpreet Kaur Amid Rift Rumours

Newly appointed India women’s cricket captain Smriti Mandhana has paid tribute to outgoing skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, hours after reports claimed that differences over.

The captaincy had caused unease between the two senior players. Mandhana took to Instagram on Wednesday to acknowledge Harmanpreet’s decade-long leadership of the Indian team and expressed hope that the duo would continue to achieve success for the country together.

“It’s been a pleasure playing with you for so many years,” Mandhana wrote.

“Ten years of your leadership have been fantastic and together, we will strive to bring many more laurels for our nation,” she added.

Mandhana’s message came shortly after the BCCI appointed her as India’s captain across all three formats, formally ending Harmanpreet’s tenure as the team’s leader.

The timing of the post drew attention as a PTI report earlier in the day claimed that differences over the captaincy had created unease between the two players. A team source was quoted as saying that the pair had “not been seeing eye to eye for a while now”.

According to the report, Harmanpreet wanted to continue leading India in Tests and ODIs, but the BCCI indicated that it was seeking a change of guard across all formats.

Harmanpreet became India’s full-time T20I captain in 2016 before taking charge of the ODI and Test teams in 2022. During her tenure, India won their maiden ODI World Cup last year and recently clinched a second successive Asian Games gold medal in T20 cricket. The team also won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games under her leadership.

The 37-year-old has been a prominent figure in the growth of Indian women’s cricket across formats. However, India’s T20I performances had also come under scrutiny after the team made early exits from successive T20 World Cups. The side eventually ended its long wait for an ICC trophy by winning the ODI World Cup at home last year.

Mandhana had previously indicated her readiness to take on the captaincy. Following India’s Asian Games gold medal, she said the team should now aim for bigger titles.

The captaincy transition was subsequently discussed during a BCCI review meeting in Guwahati, chaired by board secretary Devajit Saikia, where Harmanpreet was informed that a change of guard was likely.