Diana Edulji Wants To See Smriti Mandhana As A Leader And Suggested To Drop Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma

Feb 18, 2022 at 11:56 AM

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Diana Edulji Wants To See Smriti Mandhana As A Leader And Suggested To Drop Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma

Diana Edulji said batters like Harmanpreet Kaur and Shafali Verma should be dropped as the former captain expressed disappointment with the star batters’ poor run of form.

Former India captain Diana Edulji has criticised Harmanpreet Kaur over the India T20I captain’s poor run of form in international cricket, saying it’s time to drop the star batter from the playing XI.

Harmanpreet Kaur has made only two 50-plus scores since the 2017 World Cup in England where India reached the final but has been a regular member in the line-up.

 Harmanpreet Kaur has scored 20 runs in 2 ODIs in New Zealand (AFP Photo)
Harmanpreet Kaur has scored 20 runs in 2 ODIs in New Zealand (AFP Photo)

Diana Edulji : Smirti Mandhana Front Runner As Captain For All Formats While Harmanpreet Kaur Should Be Dropped

Diana Edulji said Harmanpreet Kaur can’t survive on the 171 she made during the 2017 World Cup semi-final and the team should take a tough call, highlighting that the yardsticks for all players should be same. Diana Edulji referred to dropping of Jemimah Rodrigues who has not traveled to New Zealand for the limited-overs series and the Women’s World Cup in March after the selectors snubbed her due to poor form.

Harmanpreet Kaur had fitness issues last year but after an impressive WBBL, she was expected to replicate that performance at the highest level. The 32-year-old has scored 20 runs across 2 ODIs against New Zealand after managing 12 in the one-off T20I.

Diana Edulji [File] Former team India captain
Diana Edulji [File] Former team India captain
India are yet to open their account in New Zealand. They lost the one-off T20I and are starting at another series defeat in the five-match ODI fixture. She is yet to fire in the bilateral rubbers against New Zealand.

“If you are going with the same yardstick which was used to drop Jemimah Rodrigues, what the coach (Ramesh Powar) had mentioned, the same yardstick should be applied to Harmanpreet,” Edulji said.

Diana Edulji also said Smirti Mandhana should take over India captaincy across all three formats after Mithali Raj brings down the curtains on her career. Mithali Raj is likely to retire after the Women’s World Cup next month. Smirti Mandhana, who had an extended stay in the managed isolation and quarantine in Christchurch, has joined the rest of the team in Queenstown. She missed the lone T20I and the first 2 ODIs.

“Even on captaincy front, Smriti is the front-runner for all formats after Mithali as Harman is not performing. I wouldn’t mind dropping her for the next game. Sneh Rana is a good replacement for her,” Edulji, 66, added.

Even though opener Smriti Mandhana, medium-pacers Renuka Singh Thakur, and Meghna Singh will be available for the third ODI against hosts New Zealand in Queenstown, there would be a lot on captain Mithali Raj‘s plate to think about. Down 0-2 in the five-match series, India have not just been plagued by the absence of the trio serving the mandatory isolation but also hurt by below-par performances by most of the team members.

Diana Edulji : Shafali Verma Needs A Little Rap On The Knuckle, As She Needs Proper Grooming

Meanwhile, Diana Edulji also called for dropping of Shafali Verma for a couple of matches, saying the young opener needs a little rap on the knuckle. Teen sensation Shafali Verma averages 25 in eight games since making her debut in England last year.

Two years into international cricket, the bowlers have found out the weakness in her game which is not allowing her to play freely. Diana Edulji wants to work on her game too.

“Shafali needs a little rap on the knuckle, she needs proper grooming. She is moving towards the square leg and playing. There is no stillness in her stance. I can’t understand why. When she was scoring, there wasn’t this type of (trigger) movement.

“Bowlers have found her out and that is why she is moving away from the stumps to play her strokes. But you have to respect the bowlers at this level,” said Edulji.

Shafali Verma became the thrid youngest Indian women cricketer to play Test cricket after she was handed her debut | Photo: BCCI women
Shafali Verma became the thrid youngest Indian women cricketer to play Test cricket after she was handed her debut | Photo: BCCI women

It would be interesting to see if all-rounder Sneh Rana gets a game. It remains a mystery why Sneh Rana has still not replaced an out-of-form Harmanpreet Kaur.

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