Former India women's captain Anjum Chopra has said that newly appointed all-format skipper Smriti Mandhana does not need to fill Harmanpreet Kaur's shoes and should instead define her own leadership identity after being handed the captaincy across all three formats.

The Leadership Transition

Smriti was named India's all-format captain on the same day Harmanpreet stepped down after nearly a decade at the helm. Her first assignment in the full-time role is a home series against Zimbabwe, beginning with three T20Is in Raipur from 16 October. The appointment followed a review meeting held in Guwahati on Monday, attended by Smriti, Harmanpreet, head coach Amol Muzumdar, and BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia.

Anjum Chopra's Take on the Transition

'Smriti does not need to step into Harman's shoes at all,' Anjum said. 'She has experience leading India — the Guwahati games against England in 2019 was the first time she captained the team, and fortunately, she has had more time in a leadership role prior to becoming full-time captain than Harman or anyone else had.'

Anjum drew a vivid parallel to describe the seamlessness of the handover. 'It's like passing a baton in a relay: Smriti collected it cleanly while already on the run, so she has a head start. How that head start gets converted is how she will be measured in the present and future,' she said.

The former captain was also clear that Smriti should not attempt to replicate her predecessor's methods. 'If you weren't looking for a change, why did the change happen? I don't expect Smriti to be a clone of Harman, and nobody should be a clone. You take the best parts of every leader, bring them forward, and make them your own,' she added.

Challenges Ahead for Smriti

Anjum acknowledged that the new captain walks into a role with well-documented challenges. 'Her biggest challenge will be addressing those gaps, whether in T20s or ODIs, and building on where the team has reached. All these players — Deepti, Smriti, Jemimah — reached this pedestal together. Now it's about taking it to the next level,' she said.

On the squad's ability to cope with the change in leadership, Anjum expressed confidence that the Zimbabwe series offers a relatively gentle start. 'This series isn't against a world-number-one side where high tension is running around, so the players will have space and time to adjust,' she said, while also noting that the ICC Champions Trophy in India would be a more definitive test of Smriti's captaincy. 'How everyone shapes up moving toward the ICC Champions Trophy in India will be closely measured.'

Smriti's Credentials for the Role

Smriti Mandhana, India's most prolific all-format batter, previously led India in four ODIs and 18 T20Is, besides captaining Maharashtra in domestic cricket. She guided Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to the Women's Premier League (WPL) title earlier this year, after leading the franchise to its maiden crown in 2024. In September, she surpassed Mithali Raj to become the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket across formats. Her 18 international centuries are the most by any women's batter, and she is the first Indian woman to score hundreds in all three formats.

Anjum concluded that Smriti's readiness for the role was evident even in the language she used upon appointment. 'The language and preparation change when you're ready,' she said. 'Whatever happened in the past is done. Now the job is clearly defined: you are the captain of the Indian team. What you make of it — the decisions, the preparation, the process — will be what we start analyzing and measuring from here.'

With the Zimbabwe T20I series just days away, all eyes will be on how Smriti begins writing her own captaincy chapter.