Harmanpreet Kaur first announced her decision to resign as captain in all three international forms of the game for the Indian team. On October 6, the 37-year-old all-rounder announced her decision, ending an era of leadership in Indian women’s cricket.
Harmanpreet led India for five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is during her captaincy. The highlight of most has come last year, when under her captaincy India won their first ever Women’s ODI World Cup. She was the captain of the side that won a successive gold medal at the Asian Games in Nisshin, most recently.
Harmanpreet kaur made this announcement in a social media statement where she termed the decision as emotional but said that she is parting with the captaincy in peace. She said she had spent a quarter of her life with Team India, sacrificing personal ambitions and individual goals for the sake of Indian women’s cricket.
This comes after Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, head coach Amol Muzumdar and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had a discussion. There had been increasing questions over the leadership role, especially after another group-stage exit from a T20 World Cup by India in June.
Smriti Mandhana has emerged as one of the leading contenders to replace him as captain. Since then, she has led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to WPL crowns in 2024 and again in 2026 – certainly verifying her credentials as a leader.
Harmanpreet led India for the first time in T20Is back in 2012 but after the 2016 T20 World Cup, she became a full-time leader. India made the T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and were runners-up to Australia two years later under her leadership.
However, her decision to step down from international captaincy does not equate to the end of her leadership journey. She is likely to remain at the helm for Mumbai Indians in the next season of Women’s Premier League.
Harmanpreet has however reiterated her love for the game and expressed that she wants to continue playing cricket.
