Cricket
oi-Prakash KL
Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all three formats, bringing an end to a leadership tenure that culminated in India’s maiden Women’s World Cup title.
The 37-year-old announced the decision on Tuesday, saying she had done her duty as leader and was ready to play for the love of the game again.
Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all formats on Tuesday, following a BCCI review meeting. Her leadership included the team’s maiden Women’s World Cup title and an Asian Games gold, with Smriti Mandhana the likely successor.
The move came a day after the BCCI held a review meeting of the women’s team in Guwahati on Monday. The meeting was chaired by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and attended by Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar, PTI reported. According to Cricbuzz, the review followed calls for Harmanpreet’s removal as captain, and Mandhana is likely to be her successor.
In a long statement on Instagram, Harmanpreet called the decision difficult. “This is not an easy decision. It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices, and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” she said.
“I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions, but also with peace.” She made clear she was not stepping away from the game: she would remain available for India in all formats. “Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will,” she said.
Harmanpreet’s captaincy began in 2012, when she led India in a T20 Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Guangzhou. She took full-time charge of the T20 side in 2016, became full-time ODI captain in 2022 after Mithali Raj retired, and was named all-format captain in 2023, the ICC said.
She captained India in 211 international matches – five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. India won 30 of the 51 ODIs under her.
Her finest moment came in November 2025, when India claimed their maiden Women’s World Cup, beating South Africa in the final after defeating Australia in the semifinal. She became the third Indian captain to win the 50-over World Cup, after Kapil Dev and M.S. Dhoni.
India also won a second successive Asian Games cricket gold at Aichi-Nagoya this year, and a record eighth Asia Cup title weeks earlier.
