Harmanpreet Kaur led India in 155 T20Is, and she has given up the captaincy in all three formats
Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as India women’s captain after a run of three titles in a year, and will carry on as a player.
Oct 6, 2026
The announcement went out on Instagram. “Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team across all formats,” Harmanpreet wrote. “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.”
She is not retiring. The same post ended: “Now, I’m ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues.”
Five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is
Those are the numbers she leaves behind as captain, and the T20I figure is the one that stands out. She was the first cricketer, man or woman, to lead a side in 150 T20 internationals.
The trophies came late, and then all at once. India beat South Africa in the 2025 Women’s World Cup final for their first world title, and Harmanpreet became the third Indian to lift the 50-over trophy as captain after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni. This year brought the Women’s Asia Cup, won against Sri Lanka in the final, and a second straight Asian Games gold, defending the title India took in Hangzhou.
There were firsts in between. India beat Australia in a Test for the first time in 2023, and a year earlier won a bilateral ODI series in England for the first time since 1999.
Why now
The timing is not a mystery. India went out before the knockouts at the Women’s T20 World Cup in England earlier this year, and the decision followed a review meeting in Guwahati chaired by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, with Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar in the room. She is 37, and two trophies since that exit mean she leaves on her own terms.
Mandhana the obvious pick
The BCCI has not named a successor yet. Mandhana is the expected choice. She has been the deputy for years, has already captained India in four ODIs and 18 T20Is when Harmanpreet was missing, and has led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two WPL titles.
She won’t wait long for a first match as the permanent captain. India host Zimbabwe for the first bilateral series between the two sides, with T20Is in Raipur on October 16, 18 and 20 and ODIs in Vadodara on October 23, 25 and 28. The squad, and with it the new captain, should be picked in the next few days.
Harmanpreet is staying on as a player, so she should be in it. After years of tosses and press conferences, she gets to just bat.