Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 06: India’s women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down from captaincy across all three formats. This brings an end to her decade-long leadership tenure with the national team.
On Tuesday, October 6, Harmanpreet announced her decision. She said that she would continue to play for India and remain a part of the team. She also mentioned that the decision was not easy but believed it was the right time for a change and would help the side move forward.
The 37-year old first led India on an interim basis in 2012. After which, she became the full-time captain in 2016. From there, she went on to lead India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is.
Her biggest achievement came at the 2025 Women’s World Cup, where she guided India to their maiden World Cup title on home soil. India also won three Asia Cups and two Asian Games gold medals under her leadership. This was besides securing a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Harmanpreet has 92 T20I wins as captain from 155 matches. Notably, this is the most by any player in women’s T20Is. In ODIs, she led India to 30 wins in 51 matches.
Harmanpreet’s decision followed a meeting in Guwahati including herself, vice-caption Smriti Mandhana, head coach Amol Muzumdar and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia to discuss the team’s future.
Reportedly, Mandhana is in line to take over as captain across all formats. However, the final decision is yet to be announced. It is noteworthy that India’s next assignment will be a home series against Zimbabwe, beginning October 16.
Announcing her decision, Harmanpreet Kaur said that she was leaving the captaincy with pride and peace. She also added that her leadership might have ended, but her journey with Indian cricket would continue.
