Mithali Raj Backs Shafali Verma For India’s T20 Captaincy Role

Following India’s early relegation from a recent World Cup, veteran captain Mithali Raj backed Smriti Mandhana in the longer formats, while suggesting that the much younger Shafali Verma may take over in T20.

In answer to a social media user’s question about Shafali’s leadership abilities, Mithali vehemently defended her decision to support the younger hitter despite her lack of official captaincy experience.

Mithali predicted two or three years ago that Smriti would be in charge of ODIs. However, she added that Smriti should at least be in control of the one-day and Test forms, with a younger person handling the T20.

The questioner raised an important point: rather than handing over the T20 captaincy to an inexperienced leader, why not keep Smriti for both formats? According to their inquiry, Shafali has never served as an official franchise captain or vice captain in the Women’s Premier League.

“I don’t understand how Mithali @M_Raj03 believes @TheShafaliVerma can be the T20 IWCT captain!” I mean, why can’t Smriti be both the ODI and T20 captain? Shafali has a long way to go; in addition to selecting wickets and scoring runs, she must also demonstrate her leadership abilities.

Srujana questioned why she does not captain or vice-captain a WPL squad. This is not about Smriti’s leadership abilities, which I have no question about, which is why I indicated that she is ideally suited to captain India in the longer formats.

My thoughts on Mithali Raj are more about looking ahead. She is still young, has one of the best strike rates, can bowl, and has been in the T20 setup since 2019. Leadership is built on the pitch, not on the shelf. Likewise, Jemimah participates in every International T20 league.

And, while she did not do well at the World Cup, this can happen to any player. She is a team player, selfless, and a superb spinner; in addition, her fielding saves 20-25 runs every game, which often goes unrecognised. So, in my opinion, both are well-prepared,” Mithali Raj responded.

That’s a fair question.
This isn’t about Smriti’s ability to lead, and I have no doubt about that, which is why I’ve mentioned that’s she’s well suited to captain India in the longer formats.

My thought on Shafali is more about looking ahead. She’s still young, has one of the… https://t.co/a5P6OHNFYr

— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) July 17, 2026

Mithali Raj perspective on the development of younger captains

Mithali Raj highlighted the need of giving the individual they chose enough time to settle in. We all had time to feel comfortable in our leadership responsibilities. Shafali Verma, who guided India to victory in the U-19 World Cup, was not given a leadership role.

We don’t have a roadmap. We don’t think about two years from now. Where do you see the Indian team? We’re simply thinking about series to series. “We don’t have a long-term plan,” Mithali Raj explained.

As they consider changes in the aftermath of the tournament’s collapse, India’s selectors will need to provide explanation on the succession issue.