India’s long-serving captain of the women’s cricket team, Harmanpreet Kaur, has stepped down from the role across all formats, bringing down the curtain on a successful stint as she led the South Asian team to their first ICC Women’s World Cup title at home in 2025.
Kaur announced her decision in a social media post on Tuesday, two weeks after leading India to a successful defence of their gold medal at the Asian Games.
‘Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team across all formats,’ she wrote in an Instagram post.
‘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.’
The 37-year-old was the Twenty20 captain for more than a decade after assuming the role in 2016, followed by ODI and Test captaincy in 2022.
Kaur, who made her T20I and ODI debuts for India in 2009, has had an illustrious career as skipper.
Opening batter Smriti Mandhana, who has been Kaur’s deputy since 2022, is the favourite to take over the captain’s role.