The last year has brought plenty of success for India’s women cricketers, with a World Cup triumph followed by the Asia Cup win and the Asian Games gold. Yet as Smriti Mandhana begins her tenure as India’s new all-format captain, the team still needs to take the next step in one area – T20 cricket.The women’s team failed to progress past the league stage in the previous two T20 World Cups and will start its preparation for the 2028 edition with a three-match series against Zimbabwe in Raipur on Friday.Mandhana, however, felt that the team only needed marginal improvements and not an overhaul to do better in the biennial tournament.“Yes, the last two T20 World Cups, we were not able to qualify (for knockouts). And for sure, we all have a lot to learn from this. We felt that we had prepared well. But definitely, I think the things that are required in T20 cricket, in terms of fitness, and fielding, and bowling, and batting, in all the departments, I wouldn’t say that we are not good. We are good. But we just need 10 per cent improvement. And I think the girls are very aware of it,” she told reporters on Wednesday.“And we are all really working towards it. And we are a pretty young group. So definitely, it’s a fun group to work with.”She said the team needs to work on a few things in the shortest format. “We have won the World Cup in the last one and a half years. But there were a few things which we needed to work on in the T20 format especially. But I would say our strength has been the players who have come in. They have done extremely well,” she added.One of India’s focus areas would be to find a reliable No. 3 batter in Jemimah Rodrigues’ continued absence due to injury. Pratika Rawal played at number three in the Asia Cup, while G Kamalini, Bharti Fulmali and Harmanpreet Kaur rotated in the position during the Asian Games.Story continues below this adMandhana backed youngsters Niki Prasad and Anushka Sharma, as well as Kamalini, to step up if offered a chance. “Jemimah has been injured for the last two months. And I think we have got exciting players – Anushka and Niki, who have done really well in India. And of course, Kamalini, who was number three in the Asian Games. So, we have a lot of options. And I am really happy. I am really positive that they will do well. There is a lot of batting here,” she said.Another important part of Mandhana’s new role will be balancing leadership with her own batting. In 18 matches as captain in the shortest format, the left-hander has made 484 runs at a strike rate of 146.66. She did not expect her approach to change after taking over the captaincy.“I have become a captain on the field. There should be no changes in my batting. Because whenever I used to bat, my coach used to tell me, whenever you bat, even when I was 15 years old, always think you are the captain. Because you always take that responsibility. And those things have never changed. If the ball is in the zone, I will still go for it. And I will still play whatever the team needs me to,” the left-hander said.Also Read | Smriti, the quiet leader that leads by exampleNew captains often look to build a core of players they can rely on as they begin building the team in their own way. Mandhana, however, refused to single out any player, saying she wanted all 15 members of the squad to see themselves as match-winners.Story continues below this ad“There are only 15 players. And in the future, we will think that there are only 15 players. And all 15 players will be the match-winners in the future,” she said.Mandhana has also discussed the road ahead with former captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who led India for 10 years. “She has led India for 10 years. She is a very experienced player in the team. For sure, she will always have my support. And we had discussed how to take Indian cricket forward, and what all things are needed to do well in the future,” the left-hander said.With a new captain at the helm, India will hope the Zimbabwe series marks the beginning of a more consistent T20 side. For Mandhana, the task is to keep the team’s strengths intact, work on the areas that need improvement and make sure the lessons from the last two World Cups help India be better prepared for the 2028 edition.