New Delhi, 06 October (H.S.): India women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain across all formats. Harmanpreet had been India’s full-time T20 International captain since 2018 and ODI captain since 2022. She also led the team in Test cricket. She took over the leadership from legendary player Mithali Raj.

In an emotional message posted on Instagram, Harmanpreet wrote, “Today, I am stepping down as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all formats. It is not an easy decision. It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices and moments that will stay with me for a lifetime. I have given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket — my blood, my sweat, my time, and at times even a part of my game and personal ambitions. There were moments when I had to put aside my individual performances, my own growth and some of the things I wanted for myself because I believed the team had to come first.”

She added, “As captain, I had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that were not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost. But every decision I made had one purpose — to make this team better and to give other players the opportunity to step up, believe in themselves and become the best versions of themselves.”

Harmanpreet led India to their first-ever senior women’s ICC World Cup title by defeating South Africa on home soil, etching her name in history. She became the first Indian woman captain to lead the team to an ICC World Cup title at the senior level.

“I have seen it all. I have seen the lowest points, heartbreaking moments, criticism, doubt and days when nothing seemed to be going our way. And I have also seen the highest of highs — victories, celebrations, the pride of representing my country and moments that made every sacrifice worthwhile,” Harmanpreet wrote.

Under Harmanpreet’s captaincy, India won a record four Asia Cup titles. Under her leadership, India won the Asia Cup in 2012, 2016, 2022 and 2026. She also led India to back-to-back gold medals at the Asian Games, with the country finishing on top at Hangzhou 2022 and Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

Explaining her decision to step down as captain, Harmanpreet said, “Today, I am stepping away from captaincy with a flood of emotions in my heart, but also with peace in my mind. Because I genuinely believe my team is in a good place. It is a team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am extremely excited about and want to remain a part of. I feel I have done my duty. I have given this team everything I had. I carried this responsibility with pride and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to lead Indian women’s cricket. Now it is time for me to turn the page. The captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will. Thank you to every teammate, coach, support staff member, administrator, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, my family members and every fan who stood by me through the good and bad times. Blood. Sweat. Sacrifice. Pride. I gave it my all. Now I am ready to play again for the love of the game. Captaincy ends. The journey continues.”

Among Harmanpreet’s other major achievements as captain was leading India to their first women’s bilateral ODI series victory in England since 1999. India achieved the historic feat in 2022.

She also led India to a historic Test victory over Australia in 2023. In addition, she guided India to their first-ever T20 International series win over England in 2025.

As captain, Harmanpreet led India in more than 150 T20 Internationals, surpassing legendary men’s captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to become the first cricketer to captain in more than 150 T20 Internationals.

Under her captaincy, India also recorded a historic victory in the first women’s Test match played at Lord’s Cricket Ground this year, defeating England by 270 runs.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar