Harmanpreet Kaur makes BIG statement after Mithali Raj's retirement says, 'Sometimes things were not easy'

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Former India captain Mithali Raj announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket this month. With this Harmanpreet Kaur became the captain of the Indian women's team in ODI as well. Kaur is leading the Indian T20 side since 2018. After Mithali's retirement Kaur has expressed that now that she will be leading the team in all formats it will be easy for her to take out the best from the players. Kaur also said that at times it was not easy to mange the team with two different captains in two formats. 

Ahead of #TeamIndia's tour of Sri Lanka, Captain @ImHarmanpreet sums up what the legendary @M_Raj03 has done for the game.  pic.twitter.com/emXC39PDzO — BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 18, 2022

“I have been leading the T20 side for a long time and now this time, I am getting an opportunity to lead the ODI side as well. I think things will be easy because when two different captains were there, sometimes things were not easy because we both had different ideas. Now, it’s easy for me to tell them what I am expecting from them and things will be much easier for me and my teammates as well,” said Harmanpreet in a press conference ahead of  India's tour to Sri Lanka.

Harman also said that Mithali is a kind of cricketer no one can replace and she will be missed in the Indian dressing room. "Well, as we all know, she (Mithali) has done great for women’s cricket and I don’t think anyone can fill this place. If you talk about Mithali Di, I don’t think there is anyone who can take her place and we will always miss her in our dressing rooms and the things she has done so far,” added Harmanpreet. 

Earlier, in an interview, Mithali opened up on her relationship with Harmanpreet during the controversial phase where he was left out of the Indian team during the 2018 ICC T20 World Cup semifinal match against England under the captaincy of Harmanpreet. “I don’t think there has been any problem between me and Mithali. I can speak for myself. You have to speak to her and ask if she has a problem with me. I have always respected her as a senior. We are mature enough to handle the situation. We will have to play as a unit to take the team forward. We are more team players than individuals. If you think about the team cause, you will put your head down and work towards that. I have met her and spoken to her after all these events and we seem to have moved on,” Harmanpreet was quoted as saying by The Mumbai Mirror.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Sunday welcomed the Indian women's cricket team led by Harmanpreet Kaur, which arrived here to play three T20Is and an equal number of ODIs, by posting images of the players alighting from the airport.