Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as India Women captain across formats
What's the story
Harmanpreet Kaur, who led India to the historic Women's ODI World Cup last year, has stepped down from her role. She announced her decision on Instagram, saying it was not an easy choice but one she felt was necessary. "Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women's Cricket Team across all formats," she wrote in a lengthy post.
Emotional farewell
Not an easy decision, says Kaur
Kaur, who took over as India's full-time captain after Mithali Raj's retirement in 2022, reflected on her time leading the team.
"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 said.
Despite stepping down from captaincy, Kaur confirmed her availability for India in all formats.
Leadership transition
My team is in a good place: Kaur
Kaur expressed her confidence in the team's future, saying she leaves the captaincy with a "heart full of emotions, but also with peace."
She added, "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."
Next steps
A look at Kaur's captaincy journey
Kaur led India's T20I team for a decade, taking charge in 2016 and becoming ODI captain in 2022.
Under her leadership, India won their maiden ODI World Cup last November and recently clinched a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal in the T20 format.
"Now, I'm ready to play for the love of the game again," she said as she looks forward to continuing her cricketing journey without the burden of captaincy.
Numbers
A look at her captaincy journey
According to Cricinfo, Harmanpreet Kaur led India in Women's five Tests, 51 WODIs and 155 WT20Is.
Last month, she led India to their second successive Asian Games gold medal, in Nisshin.
She holds the record for captaining and winning the most WT20Is. Under her, the Indian WT20I side won 92 and lost 57 matches (Tied: 1 and NR: 5).
Kaur also won 30 and lost 19 WODIs as captain (Tied: 1 and NR: 1).