Historic Shift as Harmanpreet Kaur Relinquishes India Women's Cricket Captaincy

Harmanpreet Kaur led India to their first ICC Women's World Cup title in 2025.

India’s long-standing women’s cricket captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, has stepped down from the role across all formats, marking the end of a highly successful tenure that saw her lead the South Asian team to their first ICC Women’s World Cup title at home in 2025.

Kaur shared her decision via a social media post on Tuesday, just two weeks after guiding India to a successful defense of their gold medal at the Asian Games.

“Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team across all formats,” Kaur stated in an Instagram post. “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.”

The 37-year-old served as T20 captain for over a decade after taking on the responsibility in 2016, subsequently adding ODI and Test captaincy to her duties in 2022. Having made her international T20 and ODI debuts for India in 2009, Kaur boasts an illustrious career as skipper.

Indian media reports indicated that Kaur’s announcement followed a meeting with Devajit Saikia, secretary of the Indian cricket board (BCCI), to discuss the future trajectory of the women’s team. Opening batter Smriti Mandhana, who has acted as Kaur’s deputy since 2022, is widely regarded as the favorite to assume the captaincy.

Under Kaur’s leadership, India captured their maiden Women’s Cricket World Cup title in November of last year on home soil. Most recently, she steered India to a title defense at the Asian Games following a dominant victory over Sri Lanka, hot on the heels of lifting the women’s Asia Cup trophy in September.

The top-order batter also guided India to the semifinals of the 2018 and 2023 Women’s T20 World Cups, as well as a runner-up finish at the 2020 edition.

Kaur has captained India across five Tests, 51 ODIs, and 155 T20Is. She holds the distinction of being the first cricketer—male or female—to lead her national side in more than 150 T20I matches.

“I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions, but also with peace… because I genuinely believe my team is in a good place,” she added in her Instagram post. “I feel I have done my duty.”

“Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will. Now, I’m ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues.”