Shantha Rangaswamy wants Harmanpreet Kaur to step down from captaincy

It may seem a tad harsh a day after Indiarsquos pathbreaking triumph in the Womenrsquos ODI World Cup but for the greater good former national team skipper Shantha Rangaswamy wants Harmanpreet Kaur to step down from captaincy something she feels is long overdueSpeaking to PTI Rangaswamy believes that leaving captaincy would be beneficial for 36yearold Harmanpreet who remains invaluable to the team as a batter and a gun fielderShe said the change has to be made with the longterm future of the team in mind The ODI World Cup is scheduled in 2029 while the T20 showpiece is in the UK next yearStar opener Smriti Mandhana who is 29 is the obvious choice for a new captain said Rangaswamy ldquoItrsquos overdue Because Harman as a batter and a fielder is brilliant Yes But tactically she can fumble at times I feel she can contribute more if shersquos without the burden of captaincyldquoSee when it comes after a success like this World Cup win it will not be taken well but in the interest of Indian cricket and in Harmanrsquos own interest I think she can contribute much more as a batter without the burden of captaincyldquoShe still has threefour years of bigtime cricket left Not being captain would allow her to do that Smriti should be made captain across formats You need to plan for future World Cups alsordquo said RangaswamyShe also referred to Rohit Sharmarsquos case as the selectors moved on from him for the teamrsquos sake after he captained India to the Champions Trophy title earlier this yearNeed to improve bowlingRangaswamy could not be happier about the teamrsquos titlewinning run at home but she also made it a point to talk about the vulnerable areasldquoIn our days batting used to be the weaker linkNow batting has a settled look but bowling is a concern Fielding too can be a lot betterldquoAustralia lost only because they did not have a good bowling attack I would say Pakistan and Bangladesh had better bowling attacks The batters did the job for usrdquo said Rangaswamy referring to seventime champions Australia losing to India in the semifinals with the latter not being able to defend 338Popularity to riseReaching the final in 2017 made womenrsquos cricket popular in India but the win on Sunday night will lead to an explosion in girls taking up the sport predicted Rangaswamyldquo10 years down the line you would see the massive impact of this win This will inspire millions to take up the sportrdquo she saidShe lauded outgoing chief selector Neetu David and her team for picking a championshipwinning squadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever