Harmanpreet Kaur
Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as India captain across all formats after historic Asian Games gold
Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Tuesday announced her decision to step down as skipper across all formats, days after leading the side to a second successive Asian Games gold medal in Japan.
Kaur took charge as India’s full-time T20I captain in 2016 and became the full-time ODI and Test captain in 2022 following Mithali Raj’s departure from international cricket.
The charismatic batter, who led India to their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title in 2025, announced her decision in an emotional post on Instagram.
“Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team across all formats,” Kaur wrote.
“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 added.
Looking back on her tenure, Kaur said she had given everything to the team and Indian women’s cricket, including making sacrifices in her individual career and personal ambitions.
“There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first,” she wrote.
Reflecting on the difficult decisions she had to make as captain, Kaur said her intention had always been to make the team better and provide opportunities for other players to grow and develop.
“Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will,” she said.
Kaur has captained India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. She is the third Indian captain, after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni, to lead the country to a 50-over World Cup title.
Her leadership tenure also included a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where India lost to Australia in the final despite Kaur’s 65-run knock.
Kaur is also the first cricketer, male or female, to captain a side in more than 150 T20I matches.
Her legacy in the shortest format includes leading India to the semi-finals of the 2018 and 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cups and the final of the 2020 edition. She most recently guided India to their second consecutive Asian Games gold medal.
Kaur will continue to represent India as a player following her decision to step down from the captaincy.
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