Mithali Raj feels it's the time to move on from Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain who led India in the Women's T20 World Cup 2024. Harmanpreet was made the captain in 2016, and since then, she has led the team in four T20 World Cups. This time around was her worst and can be termed as the worst for the Indian team, as they were knocked out of the competition in the group stage, unlike the previous three editions, where they at least reached the semifinals. To PTI, Mithali Raj said: "If the selectors decide to change, I would go for a young captain. This is the time [to change]; if you delay more then we have another [ODI] World Cup on the horizon [October 2025]. If you are not doing it now, then don't do it later. Then it is too close to the World Cup. "Smriti [Mandhana, the vice-captain since 2016] is there but I think someone like Jemimah [Rodrigues], she's 24, she's young, she will serve you more. And [she] is someone who I feel on the field gets that energy. She speaks to everybody. I was very impressed by her in this tournament. "Despite playing those cameo roles, she never could convert her starts, but [she is] someone who really made an effort to build a momentum if there was no momentum; and if there was momentum, she tried to carry that momentum [forward]." In short, it appears that the inability of the Indian team to get accustomed fast was primarily responsible for their lousy display. While India had two months of preparation camps and match simulation in Bengaluru, teams like Australia and New Zealand played each other while South Africa went on a tour to Pakistan before the tournament. Raj said: "Surprisingly, we took time to adjust to the slowness of the wicket. Unlike an ODI World Cup, it is a short tournament, you don't have a lot of time to adjust to the conditions. Someone like [New Zealand captain] Sophie Devine was able to score that many runs [57 not out] against us and she is not used to playing on slow tracks. We were not quick enough to adjust." Looking at the bigger picture, Raj was a bit worried that India hadn't shown much 'growth' during the last three years. She said that the team had been terribly satisfied with just beating all these lower-ranked teams, and they couldn't really step up against a strong team like Australia. Raj added: "Why does the men's team do well? Immediately after a big series or a big tournament, they try others. If we are talking about depth, then when are we giving them chances?" Also Watch | Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana Left Heartbroken After India’s Close Defeat Against Australia She said: "I feel that in the last two-three years, I've not really seen any growth in this team. In the sense, like, I mean, beating the best side is what you always prepare for, but it seems like we are saturated in the sense we are beating other teams, and we are pretty happy in that. Every other team has shown growth despite limited depth, a case in point being South Africa. We have not." Raj also questioned the decisions of team management before World Cup. She said that in Asia Cup, India played their regular players and did not give a chance to new or fringe players. Raj said: "I was doing commentary in the Asia Cup. To be very honest, I didn't know what was happening. I'm sure they were aware that Asia Cup is the last series of matches that they're going to play before the World Cup. When you know that this is the last game time that you're going to have before you enter the big tournament, you do at least 70% of your planning or 80% of your planning. Like who your No. 5 or No. 6 is, these are people who would walk in a particular situation. But there it seemed they were playing only for that tournament. "It didn't seem like it was anywhere closer to... what we got to see in the World Cup. We could have given more opportunities to the bench against lower-ranked teams in Asia Cup, but we didn't. Why does the men's team do well? Immediately after a big series or a big tournament, they try others. If we are talking about depth, then when are we giving them chances?" At the end, Raj criticized the fitness level of some players which dropped catches. Three catches were missed by India against Australia while Raj felt that they could have taken two more half-chances. She said: "Against Australia, I was very disappointed to see, other than Radha Yadav and Jemi to some extent, I don't think there was anybody. So we cannot have just two players out of 11 being good. "In terms of fitness, we need to have a benchmark. Honestly, how much can you work in a month? It's something that you do around the year. It's not like just before the tournament, you have a camp and it's just going to really show the difference on the field."