Harmanpreet Kaur steps down after transforming India's women's cricket into world champions

Harmanpreet Kaur has announced her decision to step down as captain of India's women's cricket team across all formats, closing a decade-long leadership chapter that culminated in the country's first World Cup triumph. The 37-year-old made the announcement on October 6, 2026, less than a year after guiding India to the sport's biggest prize on home soil.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Kaur described the decision as difficult but necessary. She noted that her time as captain had forced her to make tough calls that were not always well received, and that some of those choices had come at a personal cost. She also confirmed she has no plans to retire from international cricket and will continue representing India as a player.

The announcement followed a meeting held a day earlier to discuss the future direction of Indian women's cricket. Kaur, senior batter Smriti Mandhana, head coach Amol Muzumdar and Devajit Saikia, honorary secretary of the Indian cricket board, took part in those discussions. Mandhana, who served as Kaur's deputy for four years, has now taken over the captaincy.

Kaur leaves behind a leadership record that spanned five Test matches, 51 one-day internationals and 155 Twenty20 internationals. Her win percentages across those formats stood at 80, 58.82 and 59.35 respectively, according to the source material. She is also India's most-capped women's cricketer.

Her final matches in charge came during a successful closing stretch. India claimed gold at the Asian Games in Japan, defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final, with Mandhana producing a standout performance. Just nine days earlier, Kaur had led the side to an Asia Cup title in the United Arab Emirates, although the team did not accept the trophy at that event.

The medals and silverware capture only part of what Kaur achieved as captain. The deeper legacy lies in how she reshaped the way India approached the game, moving the side away from conservative batting and towards a more aggressive, modern style that could compete with traditional powers Australia and England.

Kaur first took charge of India's T20 side on a full-time basis in 2016, following a disappointing group-stage exit at a home World Cup. Her appointment came after a match-winning innings that helped India secure their first T20 series victory over Australia in any format, and shortly afterwards she became the first Indian cricketer signed by the Big Bash League in Australia.

It did not take long for her to make a mark as a batter on the global stage. At the 2017 ODI World Cup, she produced an unbeaten 171 against Australia in the semifinal, a knock that carried India into the final and overturned long-held assumptions about the power and aggression an Indian woman could bring to batting. That tournament is widely viewed as a turning point for the sport in the country.

Reflecting on that period, Kaur recalled how her father's friends had once discouraged her from playing big shots, arguing that girls lacked the strength to clear the boundary rope. After watching the 2017 World Cup, she said, those same people began to believe that she and her teammates could do exactly that, according to an interview she gave to The Cricket Monthly magazine.

Her influence drew praise from rivals as well. Former Australia captain Alyssa Healy said in 2023, ahead of India's Test against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, that Kaur's work in leading the Indian side and ushering a new generation of players into the modern game had been remarkable to watch.

At her first T20 World Cup as full-time captain in 2018, Kaur guided India to their first semifinal in eight years. She also struck India's first T20 international century at that tournament, scoring 103 off 51 balls against New Zealand, signalling a shift in a format where the team had historically struggled.

India's traditional strengths had been better suited to the 50-over format, which made Kaur's task of steering a younger squad towards a more attacking T20 approach both vital and timely. Her tenure coincided with a broader evolution in how the team trained, batted and thought about scoring rates.

Progress continued in 2020, when India reached their first T20 World Cup final, powered largely by 16-year-old batting all-rounder Shafali Verma and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav. Australia proved too strong in front of a record crowd of more than 86,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, denying India the title.

Further near-misses followed, including a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a painful semifinal defeat at the 2023 T20 World Cup. Those results kept alive persistent questions about whether India could ever clear the final hurdle at a major tournament.

That doubt was finally put to rest in November 2025. Kaur's India defeated then-defending champions Australia in a dramatic come-from-behind semifinal, then overcame a determined South Africa side in the final in Navi Mumbai to be crowned world champions for the first time, in front of their own supporters.

Kaur's exit marks the end of an era defined by both trophies and transformation. Mandhana now inherits a team that has tasted global success and expects more, while Kaur continues her playing career with the knowledge that she changed not only results but the way India's women play the game.