Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as India captain in all formats - The Indian Express
Harmanpreet Kaur, the only Indian captain to have won the Women’s World Cup, announced on Tuesday that she has stepped down from the role with immediate effect. Harmanpreet made the announcement in a lengthy post on her Instagram account.
“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,” said Harmanpreet in her statement.
Widely rated among India’s greatest cricketers of all time, Harmanpreet took over as India’s full-time captain across formats after Mithali Raj retired in 2022, having led the team periodically before that as Mithali’s deputy. She has also been India’s T20I captain since 2016. Her last act as skipper of the side was leading the team to their second consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games last month.
“I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions , but also with PEACE. Because I genuinely believe My team is in a good place. A team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am incredibly excited to watch and be a part of,” Harmanpreet further said in her statement.
Harmanpreet has confirmed that she will continue to be available for India in all formats. “Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will. Thank you to every teammate, coach, support staff, management , BCCI , family members every single fan who stood by me through the highs and lows. Blood. Sweat. Sarifice. Pride. I gave it all”
“Now, I’m ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues,” she concluded in her statement.
She has led the Indian team in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. The crowning achievement of her career came last year, when under her captaincy India won their maiden Women’s World Cup title, beating South Africa in the final. Notably, they had defeated the runaway favourites and record winners Australia in the semifinal before that.
Harmanpreet is overall just the third Indian captain to have won the 50-over World Cup after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni and one of five Indians to have won any World Cup as skipper, with Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav leading the men’s side to victory in the T20 World Cups of 2024 and 2026 respectively. She has captained the Indian team in 155 T20I matches, the most for any player across men’s or women’s cricket. She has played a total of 210 T20I matches, which is also the most for any player across genders.
Harmanpreet made her international debut in March 2009 in an ODI against Pakistan in the Women’s World Cup that year. Her T20I debut came a couple of months after that against England. She made her Test debut against England in August 2014.
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