Indian women's cricket has been put under new leadership after Smriti Mandhana has been selected as the captain of all formats of the team in place of Harmanpreet Kaur who resigned earlier this week. Although the change in management by BCCI was confirmed yesterday, a new report says the two senior players’ differences have led to unrest in the dressing room.
The report, carried by NDTV Sports and based on a Press Trust of India report, quoted an unnamed team source saying that Mandhana and Harmanpreet had not been “seeing eye to eye” for some time. The reason for this was that the situation caused consternation in the Indian dressing room, he said.
The claim has not been independently established by the BCCI or either player, so it should be considered as a reported account and not a fact.
Mandhana replaces Harmanpreet as India Captain
The leadership change became official on October 6 after Harmanpreet announced that she was stepping down as India's captain across all three formats.
She had been the captain of India for almost a decade and led the T20I team for the first time in 2016, and her greatest achievement was in 2025 when she led India to their first Women's ODI World Cup win, which she did on home soil. She has also recently led the team to a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal in Japan.
Harmanpreet has made it clear that stepping down as captain does not mean retirement. She said she was ready to continue playing for India.
Mandhana was named as her successor. The 30-year-old opener had already served as Harmanpreet's deputy and has previous international captaincy experience, leading India in 18 T20Is and four ODIs.
She also has considerable leadership experience in domestic and franchise cricket. Mandhana has led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two Women's Premier League titles.
Report claims differences between Senior Players
The captaincy transition has brought attention to Mandhana and Harmanpreet's relationship again.
According to the PTI report carried by NDTV Sports, the captaincy issue had become difficult for the two players. As a team source said, the two had not been seeing eye to eye and this had created an uneasy atmosphere in the dressing room.
The report also mentioned the previous leadership transition between Harmanpreet and former India captain Mithali Raj. Harmanpreet then took over from Mithali as ODI captain after the 2022 World Cup, which was a tough time for the team.
However, there has been no official statement from the BCCI on whether the dressing room division was the cause of the captaincy change.
The BCCI’s move follows a review process after India’s recent performances and failure to make it to the knockout stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Harmanpreet subsequently announced her decision to step down across formats.
When Mandhana’s promotion came too late?
The report has also revived a debate over whether Mandhana should have been given the captaincy earlier.
Former India Captain Mithali Raj had earlier suggested that Mandhana could have been captain of the ODI team two or three years ago. After India's early collapse at the 2026 T20 World Cup, Mithali reportedly questioned Harmanpreet's form and fitness and suggested that Mandhana could take charge of the ODI and Test teams, while a younger player such as Shafali Verma could be considered for the T20I leadership.
Mandhana herself had said in a recent interview that she was ready to lead India. Her elevation now comes after several years as one of the team’s senior players.
The timing is remarkable because India has achieved so much success under Harmanpreet in recent years. The team won the 2025 ODI World Cup and successfully defended its Asian Games women’s cricket gold medal in 2026. India also won the Women’s Asia Cup in September.
At the same time, the team had struggled in recent T20 World Cups, with consecutive early exits raising questions about the side's approach and leadership in the shortest format.
Harmanpreet to continue as a player
After quitting captaincy, Harmanpreet is expected to be an important part of the Indian team.
Her experience will be particularly relevant in Mandhana’s leadership. The two players have been part of India's senior core for years, and Harmanpreet's decision to continue playing means that the new captain will be leading a team that still involves her predecessor.
Mandhana acknowledged Harmanpreet's contribution as captain. The new skipper said the commitment Harmanpreet had shown while she was a leader of India was recognised by the ICC.
The task for Mandhana now is to build on the good results India has achieved so far and to fix the team's issues in T20 cricket.
India's next assignment is a home series against Zimbabwe beginning October 16, with three T20Is followed by three ODIs.
Therefore the new captain will be given an early chance to form her leadership style. That is to say, whether the reported tensions between the two senior players have any lasting impact remains to be seen.
For now, what is officially confirmed is a change in leadership. The claims about dressing-room division come from an unnamed source in the PTI report and have not been independently confirmed. With Harmanpreet still a player and Mandhana taking over as the captain, the combination of the two could be a major story for Indian women’s cricket in the upcoming months.
