Harmanpreet Kaur: A Journey from Studies to Stardom in Women’s Cricket

Punjab’s Harmanpreet Kaur’s successful innings contributed enormously to the semi-final of the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. She, along with Jemimah, Smriti, Deepti, and other team members, led India to victory in a successful chase of a 338+ target to set a new record for the highest successful chase in women’s ODI cricket.

Family Background

Harmanpreet Kaur was born on March 8, 1989, in a middle-income family in Moga, Punjab, to Harmandar Singh and Satwinder Kaur. She also has a sibling named Hemjeet Kaur. Her father was a volleyball and basketball player. Besides these, he was an aspiring cricketer who became the very first coach to his daughter.

Since Kaur became a social media sensation because of her wonderful innings of 89 runs against Australia in the semi-finals, let’s take a look at her academic background and sports journey.

Academic Background

Kaur completed her early education at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya in Jalandhar. Afterwards, she claimed to have graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree through distance learning from Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCS) between 2009 and 2011. However, there was controversy around her graduation degree being ‘fake,’ as university officials did not find any record of her enrollment. Nevertheless, Kaur defended her stance, arguing that all her degrees are legal.

Kaur added that she had to transfer to another university as her cricket schedule and exam dates were overlapping, and she couldn’t continue her studies there.

Later on, Kaur even enrolled in a PG course but couldn’t finish it due to overseas tournaments.

Sports Journey – A Quick Glance

Kaur’s interest in cricket grew from her surroundings and family influences. To convert her dreams into reality, she joined Gian Jyoti School Academy in Ludhiana, where she was trained under Kamaldeesh Singh Sodh.

Her consistent as well as significant performances in Punjab domestic cricket garnered attention. Eventually, Kaur was selected for the Indian women’s national team in 2009 at just 20 years old, from where she debuted internationally against Pakistan in the Women’s World Cup. Her T20 debut was in June 2009 against England in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 at County Ground, Taunton.

Career Batting Stats (Right-Handed Batsman)

Refer to the table below to check the batting statistics of her career:

Format Matches (M) Innings (Inn) Runs Highest Score (HS) Average (Avg) Balls Faced (BF) Strike Rate (SR) 100s 50s 4s 6s Years
Test 6 9 200 69 25 369 54.2 0 1 21 0 2014-24
ODI 160 139 4389 171* 37.2 5692 77.1 7 22 439 56 2009-
T20I 182 162 3654 103 28.8 1 14 2009-

Career Bowling Stats (Right-Arm Off Spin Bowler)

Refer to the table below to check the bowling statistics of her career:

Format Matches (M) Innings (Inn) Maidens (Mdn) Runs Wickets (W) Best Bowling (BB) Economy (Econ) Average (Avg) Strike Rate (SR) 4W 5W Years
Test 6 7 13 185 12 May-44 2.59 15.4 35.7 1 1 2014-24
ODI 160 73 7 1533 31 16-Feb 5.28 49.5 56.2 0 0 2009-
T20I 182 62 0 795 32 23-Apr 6.28 24.8 23.8 1 0 2009-

 

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