Mithali Raj lashes out at Indian team, wants Jemimah Rodrigues to replace Harmanpreet Kaur as captain

Former India cricketer Mithali Raj believes that the time has come for Harmanpreet Kaur to step down as captain. Under her leadership, India failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2024 as they lost their opening league game against New Zealand and later lost to Australia by nine runs as well. 

Mithali wants a new face to take charge and believes that Jemimah Rodrigues fits in. She explained that Jemimah is currently young and can be the next face ahead of Smriti Mandhana, who is struggling with the form at the moment. The 41-year-old noted that Jemimah impressed her in the T20 World Cup and added that also she likes how the cricketer brings positive energy and is in touch with all the cricketers. 

“If the selectors decide to change, I would go for a young captain. This is the time [to change]; if you delay more then we have another [ODI] World Cup on the horizon [October 2025]. Smriti is there but I think someone like Jemimah, she's 24, she's young, she will serve you more. And [she] is someone who I feel on the field gets that energy. She speaks to everybody. I was very impressed by her in this tournament,” Mithali was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

In the last two-three years, I've not really seen any growth: Mithali

Mithali also lashed out at the current team management stating that there hasn’t been any growth in the last few years. She cited the example of South Africa and explained that all the other cricketing nations have grown but India couldn’t and believes that it has come to a saturation point now.

“I feel that in the last two-three years, I've not really seen any growth in this team. In the sense, like, I mean, beating the best side is what you always prepare for, but it seems like we are saturated in the sense we are beating other teams, and we are pretty happy in that. Every other team has shown growth despite limited depth, a case in point being South Africa. We have not,” Mithali said. 

In terms of fitness, we need to have a benchmark: Mithali

India struggled heavily on the field during the T20 World Cup. The fitness standards of Richa Ghosh and Shafali Verma were particularly put under the scanner during the game against Australia. Mithali reminded that India need to have a benchmark when it comes to fitness and added that it is something that the players need to focus on throughout the year and not during a camp.

“In terms of fitness, we need to have a benchmark. Honestly, how much can you work in a month? It's something that you do around the year. It's not like just before the tournament, you have a camp and it's just going to really show the difference on the field,” Mithali added.