Mandhana explains why Shafali Verma was chosen as India women's T20I vice-captain
Smriti Mandhana explained on JioStar's Follow the Blues: The Dawn of Captain Smriti on 2026-10-16 why she selected Shafali Verma as India’s women’s T20I vice-captain after Harmanpreet Kaur decided to step down. Mandhana has been appointed to lead India across formats, with Shafali named her deputy for T20Is and Deepti Sharma given the ODI vice-captaincy. The change in leadership prompted questions over the omission of Jemimah Rodrigues from the T20I deputy role.
Mandhana said she chose Shafali ahead of more experienced options and pointed to the youngster’s recent development as justification for the appointment. Jemimah Rodrigues has eight years on the international circuit and had taken over as Delhi Capitals captain from Meg Lanning. Jemimah then guided the Capitals to a runners-up finish in her maiden season as skipper in the Women’s Premier League.
Mandhana singled out Shafali’s early impact in international cricket as evidence of her special ability and recalled how the batting impressed team members in a high-profile opening series. "I think everybody knew when she came into the team, there's something special about this kid. Because from the non-striker's end, I think in the first series, which was against Australia, the way she dominated Australian bowlers, we all were like, 'Wow, she's some player',” Mandhana said.
She also cited the openness’s recent growth in responsibility and temperament when explaining the decision. “But to see her in the last six to 12 months, the kind of responsibility she's taken as a batter, not only in the first six overs but after that, the way she's built her innings in the middle overs, especially in the Asia Cup and Asian Games, has been outstanding. The way she showed maturity, I'm really, really happy for her, and I hope we both can take this team forward,” Mandhana added.
The young opener played a key role in India’s Women’s World Cup final against South Africa last year, scoring 87 runs and claiming the crucial wickets of Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp. Those contributions were cited by Mandhana as part of Shafali’s recent rise in responsibility within the batting unit.
Having scored over 3,300 runs in T20Is since her debut in 2018, Shafali will be eager to scale greater heights for the Women in Blue. That career total underlines her experience in the shortest format despite her relative youth.
For now, Mandhana said the immediate focus for Shafali and the team is the home series against Zimbabwe, followed by India’s tour of South Africa later this year.
