Shantha Rangaswamy picks the next captain of India's Women's Team

Former Indian woman cricketer Shantha Rangaswamy has suggested the next captain of Indian women's cricket team after Mithali Raj. The former Indian woman cricketer reckons that opener Smriti Mandhana's knacks for being consistent make her an ideal candidate to lead India. 

"Mithali can go on if she wants to... But, Smriti should lead," Rangaswamy told PTI.

India's departure from the World Cup meant that Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami have probably played their last match at the international level. However, Raj refused to comment after the heartbreaking loss to South Africa's women's team on Sunday when asked about a similar question. 

Rangaswamy wants Mandhana to replace Raj as the team's captain and added, "Harman is a proven match-winner and star player but captaincy needs taking responsibility and playing consistently well. An additional responsibility of captaincy may weigh Harman down. It will put an additional burden on Harman. Smriti can handle that better. Her temperament is suited to captaincy." 

Rangaswamy spoke about the team's campaign explaining, "The expectations were high since they finished runners-up last time. The results came to those who played consistently throughout. India especially in the England game, they were skittled out. Luck played its part too."

While speaking about luck, Indians managed to take the South African chase to the last over. In a dramatic climax, a no-ball by Deepti Sharma ended India's hopes eventually. Sharma had dismissed Mignon du Preez, who was later adjudged as the 'Player of the Match' award, but the umpire signalled no-ball. However, South Africans were determined throughout the chase, and India's effort in the field might costed them the match.

Unfortunately, Goswami could not feature in the match following an injury. She was seen devasted after the no-ball by Deepti. Even former India captain opined, "The no-ball today also went against them. Luck again played a part. But they were inconsistent. If you look at the last one year, Smriti and Mithali have been consistent."