Harmanpreet Kaur Steps Down as India Captain After Trophy-Laden Journey
Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as India women’s captain across formats after a decade of leadership that included a historic 2025 World Cup triumph and two Asian Games gold medals.
Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as India women’s captain across all formats, ending a decade-long leadership journey that included major heartbreaks, controversies and historic victories. She will continue playing for India, with Smriti Mandhana taking over the captaincy.
Harmanpreet became India’s full-time T20I captain in 2016 and soon established herself as one of the team’s most influential leaders. Her unbeaten 171 against Australia in the 2017 World Cup semi-final remains a landmark innings, although India lost the final to England.
Her captaincy also included difficult moments, including the 2018 T20 World Cup selection controversy and India’s narrow defeat to Australia in the 2023 semi-final.
The breakthrough finally arrived in 2025, when Harmanpreet led India to their maiden Women’s Cricket World Cup title. She then guided the team to the 2026 Asia Cup and another Asian Games gold medal.
Her tenure also saw India win their first Asian Games gold in 2023 and make significant progress across formats.
After years of near-misses and intense scrutiny, Harmanpreet leaves leadership with major trophies on her résumé. The captaincy has changed hands, but her chapter in Indian women’s cricket is hardly over. Apparently, even captains eventually have to hand over the clipboard.
