New Delhi: Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down as the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team on Tuesday, October 06. Harmanpreet’s decision comes after the BCCI conducted a review meeting of the Indian women’s team in Guwahati on Monday.
She led India to their second successive gold medal in the recently concluded Asian Games 2026.
Harmanpreet took to Instagram to announce her decision with a long post, where she confirmed that she will continue to remain part of the team and that she wanted to make the decision for the betterment of the side. The former India skipper said it was not an easy decision as she stepped down from captaincy across all three formats of the game.
“Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team across all formats. 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,” Harmanpreet wrote in her Instagram post.
Harmanpreet was appointed as India’s captain temporarily for the first time in 2012. She helped the team win the Women’s Asia Cup before taking over as the full-time captain of the side in 2016. Harmanpreet led India in a total of 5 Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is during her captaincy tenure which lasted a decade.
Discussion on Harmanpreet’s future took place in the BCCI’s review meeting in Guwahati, which was attended by her, India women’s team head coach Amol Mazumdar, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia. With age not on her side, writing was on the wall for the 37-year-old despite India’s gold-medal win in the Asian Games 2026.
In her statement, Harmanpreet reflected on her journey as the captain of the Indian women’s team and said she is leaving with the satisfaction of having completed her duty.
“I feel I have done my duty. I gave this team everything I had. I carried the responsibility with pride, and I will always be grateful for the privilege of leading Indian women’s cricket,” she wrote.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s record as captain
Harmanpreet enjoyed a successful stint as the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, leading the side to some amazing victories. She became the first captain to lead India to the Women’s ODI World Cup title last year after beating South Africa in the final.
India were on the brink of facing an early exit from the tournament before Harmanpreet helped the team spark a remarkable turnaround to clinch their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title. She also led India to three Asia Cup titles, two Asian Games gold medals and the Commonwealth Games silver medal during her tenure as captain.
Overall, Harmanpreet won 92 out of 155 T20I matches as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team. In ODIs, she racked up 30 wins in 51 matches. She led India to four victories in five Test matches.