Indian Women Cricket Team Captain List, Every Captain

The story of Indian women’s cricket is not only full of events but also has a significant impact. It started with a small step in 1976 when the Indian women’s cricket team first played internationally and gradually, this team has become so strong today largely due to these women who have not only played but led the team. Indian women’s cricket team captain records go beyond just listing names. It’s essentially a historical record of bravery, determination, and change that also reflects how women’s sports have developed in India. Be it a cricket fan, a sports history buff, or if you are just wondering who all have been captains of the Indian women’s team over time, this detailed resource has all the captains who have represented India in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is.

List of All Indian Women’s Cricket Team Captains Over the Years

1. Shantha Rangaswamy

A trailblazer is how one begins the Indian women cricket team captain list When the Indian women’s cricket team took the field for its Test debut in 1976, Shantha Rangaswamy was appointed the initial captain. She captained in Test cricket from 1976 to 1984 and in ODIs from 1982 to 1993.

As captain, her Test record in 12 matches included one win, two defeats and nine draws. The lone win was also an iconic one for Indian cricket, coming back in November 1976 against West Indies at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna India’s first-ever Test victory in women’s white-ball history. On January 8, 1977, Rangaswamy became the first Indian woman to score a Test century against New Zealand.

Her ODI captaincy includes a 4–12 record over 16 matches. One of those wins was also a historic first: India’s first ODI win in a 1982 Women’s World Cup match against an International XI at Napier.

2. Nilima Jogalekar

Nilima Jogalekar led India for just one Test against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 1985. The game finished as a draw: it received no result.

3. Diana Edulji

Diana Edulji Diana Edulji is a pioneer in the history of Indian women cricket team captaincy, being the first ever ODI captain of the country. She captained the team in ODIs for the longest duration of 15 years (from 1978 to 1993). Besides that, she was the captain in Test matches during the years 1985 and 1986.

All her four Test matches as a captain ended in draws. In the ODI format, she was captain in 18 matches, out of which India won 7 and lost 11. Her long term captaincy in ODIs is still regarded as the evidential factor of her dominance in Indian women’s cricket when it was just entering the international arena.

4. Shubhangi Kulkarni

Shubhangi Kulkarni was the captain of the Indian women’s Test team from 1986 to 1991. She was given the responsibility of leading the team in an ODI as well in 1986. Under her leadership, the Test team played 3 matches with 1 loss and 2 draws. The single ODI that she captained resulted in defeat.

5. Sandhya Agarwal

Sandhya Agarwal, as an Indian women’s cricket captain, had a very short tenure. It was only for one Test match that she captained the team against Australia in 1991. India lost the match by nine wickets.

6. Purnima Rau

Purnima Rau was the captain of the Indian women’s team in both formats in 1995. During her leadership, the team played 3 Test matches, suffering only 1 defeat while 2 matches were drawn. She was more successful in ODIs as the team won 5 out of 8 matches and lost 3 only.

7. Pramila Bhatt

Pramila Bhatt captained India in a Test match against England in 1995 which was a draw. Then she led the ODI team from 1995 to 1997. During her leadership period, the team played 7 matches with 5 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tied match. Her biggest moment was when she led India to their first ever ODI series victory which was against England during their 1995/96 tour.

8. Chanderkanta Kaul

Chanderkanta Kaul was India’s captain across two formats in 1999. She only captained India in Test cricket once, a game against England, which was drawn. As far as ODIs are concerned, she was the captain in four games, out of which three were wins and one was a loss, giving her one of the highest winning percentages among Indian captains with short tenure.

9. Anju Jain

Anju Jain was the captain of the Indian ODI team for the year 2000. Under her captaincy, India played a total of eight matches in which they were able to win five and lose three. Considering it was a phase of change for the Indian women’s cricket, the team had managed to perform quite well.

10. Anjum Chopra

Anjum Chopra’s name has been mentioned on the Indian women cricket team captain list more times than any other. She has taken the responsibility of leading India in all three formats of the game at different stages of her career. As a Test captain, she was the leader of the team in 2002 when three matches were played out resulting in one win for India and two draws. That one Test match that India won was an incredibly historic one as India’s first ever victory on foreign soil was achieved in Paarl against South Africa with a margin of ten wickets.

Chopra’s captaincy in the ODI format lasted from 2002 up to 2012 during which she was in charge of 28 games. Eleven of those games resulted in a win while losing seventeen, and one was a no result. Also, in 2012, Chopra was the captain of the Indian team in T20 Internationals where she led the team in ten matches, out of which three were victories and seven defeats.

11. Mamatha Maben

Mamatha Maben captained the Indian Women’s cricket team for only one Test match which was against New Zealand in 2003 and that game ended up as a draw. Though, her ODI captaincy stint from 2003 to 2004 will be remembered for a very long time. During this period, she was the captain of India for 19 games in which they won 14 and just five were losses. Her most glorious moment as a captain was when she took the Indian side to the trophy in the very first Women’s Asia Cup held in 2004 and since it was an ODI tournament, India in the final defeated Sri Lanka to become the champions of the very first edition.

12. Mithali Raj

A thorough review of the Indian women’s cricket team captain list wouldn’t be complete without giving a significant focus to Mithali Raj. She is considered by many as the best captain that Indian women’s cricket has ever had and under her leadership, India played across three formats for 2 decades.

In the format of Test cricket, she led the Indian team from 2005 to 2021, during which time the team played a total of eight matches, resulting in 3 wins, 1 loss and 4 draws. India, under her leadership, gained the historic milestone of their first ever Test series win in England in 2006 which was achieved at Taunton.

As captain of the ODI team from the period 2004 2022, she oversaw 155 matches with the record of 89 wins, 63 losses and 3 no results. She brought the Indian team to the women’s ICC World Cup final twice: first time in 2005 when they faced Australia and second time in 2017 when it was against England. Yet, no other Indian skipper, male or female, has taken the national team to two World Cup finals in the 50 over format. Besides that, she captained the team to Asia Cup ODI titles four times and won the 2005/06 2006 2008, and 2012 editions.

During her stint as India’s T20 captain from 2006 to 2016, she was at the helm for 32 games which resulted in 17 victories and 15 defeats. The most exciting point being that she was the captain when the Indian team played their first ever T20 International against England on August 5, 2006, and the team won the match by 8 wickets.

13. Jhulan Goswami

Jhulan Goswami, who is acknowledged as among the best pace bowlers in women’s cricket circles, was also entrusted with the leadership of the Indian team in ODIs and T20Is. Her tenure as an ODI captain saw her lead the Indian team in 25 games from 2008 till 2011, where she managed to get 12 wins and 13 losses. But, in T20Is from 2008 till 2015, Goswami led the national side on 18 occasions wherein the team managed 8 wins against 10 losses.

One of the defining moments of her captaincy was India sealing the first ever T20I series win in a series of 3 or more matches, which was accomplished against the West Indies in 2011.

14. Rumeli Dhar

Rumeli Dhar led India as captain in a single ODI against Australia in 2008. India were defeated in the game by seven wickets.

15. Harmanpreet Kaur

As the most active player on the Indian women cricket team captain list, Harmanpreet Kaur is the present leader of the Indian women’s cricket team in all the three formats.

She earned her Test captaincy in 2023 and that has already yielded two landmark wins. India thrashed England by 347 runs in a one off Test in Mumbai a record margin of victory with runs in the history of women’s Test cricket and was able to secure a home Test victory over England after a long time. India also beat Australia in Test cricket for the first time during another one off Test.

Her first ODI captaincy came about in 2013 and till now in 17 matches, she is credited with 11 wins, five losses, and one tied result. For T20I, her captaincy started in 2012, and since then she has captained the team in 111 matches, with a record of 64 wins, 42 losses, one tie, and four no results.

One of the highlights under her leadership was when India reached the final of the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup but lost to Australia by 85 runs in Melbourne. She led India to win a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and After that, the team won a gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games where India beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs. Under her continued captaincy, India have won their Asia Cup titles in 2016 and 2022 as well.

16. Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana, who is the vice captain of the Indian women’s cricket team at the moment, has even been T20I captain a few times. From 2019 to 2023, she led India in 13 T20 Internationals with seven wins, five losses and one no result. Showing the same passion and calmness in her leadership that is a part of her top order batting style, she In fact delivered as a captain.

Quick Reference

Captain	Format	Period	Key Milestone
Shantha Rangaswamy	Tests, ODIs	1976 to 1984	First captain; India’s first Test and ODI wins
Nilima Jogalekar	Tests	1985	One Test as captain (draw)
Diana Edulji	Tests, ODIs	1978 to 1993	First ODI captain; 15-year ODI tenure
Shubhangi Kulkarni	Tests, ODIs	1986 to 1991	Led three Tests and one ODI
Sandhya Agarwal	Tests	1991	One Test captaincy against Australia
Purnima Rau	Tests, ODIs	1995	Five ODI wins from eight matches
Pramila Bhatt	Tests, ODIs	1995 to 1997	First ODI series victory for India
Chanderkanta Kaul	Tests, ODIs	1999	Three ODI wins from four matches
Anju Jain	ODIs	2000	Five wins from eight ODIs
Anjum Chopra	Tests, ODIs, T20Is	2002 to 2012	First overseas Test win for India
Mamatha Maben	Tests, ODIs	2003 to 2004	Won inaugural Women’s Asia Cup
Mithali Raj	Tests, ODIs, T20Is	2004 to 2022	Two World Cup finals; four Asia Cup titles
Jhulan Goswami	ODIs, T20Is	2008 to 2015	First multi-match T20I series win
Rumeli Dhar	ODIs	2008	One ODI as captain
Harmanpreet Kaur	Tests, ODIs, T20Is	2012 to present	Record Test win; Asian Games gold; two Asia Cups
Smriti Mandhana	T20Is	2019 to 2023	Seven wins from 13 T20Is as captain

The Evolution of Leadership in Indian Women’s Cricket

Seeing the list of captains of the Indian women’s cricket team from 1976 to the present shows how far they have come. The early players like Shantha Rangaswamy and Diana Edulji were working with almost no resources and public attention. But they laid the strong competitive foundations that later captains could easily work on.

When Anjum Chopra and Mithali Raj were captains, women’s cricket in India became more professional and high profile. Mithali’s leadership over nearly 20 years took India to a level where they were regarded as a powerhouse team worldwide. Her team’s reaching the finals of the World Cup in 2005 and 2017, two times in a row, brought millions of Indian fans to the women’s game.

Currently, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana are the ones who have taken over the leadership in a time where Women’s Premier League, packed stadiums, and record breaking performances are the defining features. Leadership quality in Indian women’s cricket has probably never been better, and it is the captains before them who paved all the way.

Conclusion

The list of captains leading the Indian Women’s Cricket Team covering 50 years and 16 leaders is one of the richest tales in South Asian sports. Starting with Shantha Rangaswamy’s groundbreaking captaincy in 1976 and ending with Harmanpreet Kaur’s era of record dates in 2023, every leader had a unique style and left a mark. Knowing the sequence makes you realize the journey of Indian women’s cricket and the vision of the captains who have brought the game to the level it enjoys today.