Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as India women's cricket captain in all formats
World Cup-winning skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of the Indian women's team across all formats, saying she has done her duty and is ready to "play for the love of the game again" — with Smriti Mandhana the front-runner to take over.
Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all three formats, ending one of the longest leadership tenures in the country’s women’s game Reuters.
“Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team across all formats,” the 37-year-old wrote on social media on Tuesday. “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 announcement came a day after a BCCI review meeting in Guwahati to evaluate the team’s trajectory, chaired by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and attended by Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar New Indian Express. Mandhana, who has spoken of her ambitions to lead the side, is the front-runner to take over.
Kaur captained India in five Tests, 51 one-day internationals and 155 Twenty20 internationals, leading the side to their first-ever 50-over World Cup triumph on home soil last year, plus two T20 Asia Cup titles and two Asian Games gold medals — most recently at the Aichi-Nagoya Games last month. She took over the T20 captaincy in 2016, was elevated to ODI captaincy in 2022, and became the all-format leader in 2023 The Hindu.
“I gave this team everything I had,” she said. “I carried the responsibility with pride, and I will always be grateful for the privilege of leading Indian women’s cricket. Now, I’m ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues.” She intends to keep playing.
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