Smriti Mandhana to lead India in all three formats on the tour of South Africa

Smriti Mandhana will captain India in all three formats in South Africa next month, with Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma splitting the vice-captaincy between them

The BCCI's Women's Selection Committee has picked three squads for an all-format tour of South Africa in December, made up of one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. The tour opens with the Test at Gqeberha on 9 December and closes with a T20I at Potchefstroom on 30 December.

Mandhana leads all three sides. Deepti Sharma is her vice-captain in the Test and ODI squads, each of 15 players, while Shafali Verma takes the role in a T20I squad of 17.

Harmanpreet Kaur, who stepped down as captain in October, is named in all three squads as a player.

Two deputies for three formats

The split in the vice-captaincy is the clearest selection signal in the advisory issued by honorary secretary Devajit Saikia. Deepti, an all-rounder who bats in the middle order and bowls off spin, deputises in the red-ball and 50-over squads.

Verma, an opener whose game is built for the shortest format, is Mandhana's deputy only in the T20I group. She is picked in the Test and ODI squads as a batter.

Harmanpreet picked in every squad

Harmanpreet's last assignment as captain was the Asian Games 2026, where India defended their gold medal with a 147-run win over Sri Lanka in the final. Mandhana top-scored in that match with 79 from 45 balls. Harmanpreet stepped down days later.

Mandhana has said she wants that experience close to the younger players in the side. "She's led India, she's the longest-serving captain, and has been such a great leader," she said on JioStar in October, before her first series in charge. "So I'm sure that her experience, especially with a lot of youngsters coming into the team now, and the way she works towards the game, is going to be inspiring for a lot of people."

One name separates the Test and ODI squads

The two 15-player squads are identical but for a single change. Sneh Rana is in the Test squad; Vaishnavi Sharma takes her place for the ODIs.

Both carry Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol in the middle order and two wicketkeepers in Richa Ghosh and Yastika Bhatia, alongside Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Nandni Sharma, Jintimani Kalita and Sayali Satghare.

Renuka Singh Thakur returns for the T20Is

Renuka Singh Thakur comes back in the T20I squad alone. She was withdrawn from the ODIs against Zimbabwe in October because she was still building the bowling volume required for the 50-over format at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.

Jintimani Kalita, who replaced her in that squad, keeps her place in the Test and ODI groups but is not in the T20I side. The larger T20I party also takes in Niki Prasad, Anushka Sharma, Prema Rawat, Amanjot Kaur and Arundhati Reddy, with G. Kamalini as the second wicketkeeper.

Six T20Is before a home Champions Trophy

The three T20Is in South Africa are the last of six that Mandhana has said she has to work with before the ICC Women's Champions Trophy 2027, which India host in February.

"In the T20 format, we have six matches before the Champions Trophy," she said in October, counting the three against Zimbabwe and the three on this tour. "So, it's going to be extremely important to see what style of cricket you want to play, what brand of cricket you want to play, and who's fitting where."

The Women's Premier League falls between the two assignments.

India play the Test at Gqeberha from 9 December, the ODIs at Paarl, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, and the T20Is at Benoni and Potchefstroom.