Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as captain of the Indian women's cricket team in all three formats, ending a decade-long era that brought India its first Women's World Cup title. The 37-year-old announced the decision on Instagram on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, a day after a BCCI review meeting in Guwahati, and confirmed she will keep playing for India as a batter. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana is widely expected to succeed her before the home series against Zimbabwe starting on 16 October. "Harmanpreet Kaur" and "हरमनप्रीत कौर" quickly became two of the most searched names on Google in India. Here is why she quit, what she said, her record as captain and what happens next.
Harmanpreet Kaur steps down: what she said
"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."
The statement, carried in full by NDTV and The Times of India, was emotional and also defended her record. She said she had given the team "my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions," and that at times she had set aside her own performance "because I believed the team had to come first." She also addressed her critics directly: "As a captain, I have had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that were not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost."
She said she was leaving "with a heart full of emotions, but also with PEACE," because the team is "in a good place". She ended: "Now, I'm ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues."
Why did Harmanpreet Kaur quit as captain?
Harmanpreet did not give one specific reason, but the timing says a lot. On Monday, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia chaired a review meeting of the women's team in Guwahati, attended by Harmanpreet, Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar. Cricbuzz reported that the meeting came "on the back of calls for the removal of captain Harmanpreet" and that its agenda covered her future as captain as well as Muzumdar's future as coach. She announced her resignation hours later.
Pressure had been building since the Women's T20 World Cup in England earlier this year, when India went out in the group stage and missed the semi-finals for the second edition in a row, as BBC Sport noted. NDTV pointed to her modest returns with the bat in T20 cricket and to questions about some of her tactical calls. Former India captain Diana Edulji had publicly argued that Mandhana should take over.
The team had bounced back strongly since then. India won the Women's Asia Cup in the UAE and then a second straight Asian Games gold in Japan, beating Sri Lanka in the final on 22 September, which turned out to be Harmanpreet's last match as captain. But according to Cricbuzz, those wins did not change the board's thinking. Edulji welcomed the decision, telling Cricbuzz it was "a good decision she has taken in the interest of the future of women's cricket," giving the new captain time to settle in.
Harmanpreet Kaur's record as India captain
By the numbers, Harmanpreet leaves as India's most successful women's captain. According to the ICC and BBC Sport, she led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20 internationals. The ICC says she is the first player, man or woman, to captain a side in more than 150 T20Is.
• ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025: India's first ever 50-over world title, won on home soil in November 2025 with a final win over South Africa. The ICC notes she is only the third Indian captain to win the 50-over World Cup, after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni.
• Asian Games gold in 2023 and 2026 in the T20 format.
• Women's Asia Cup titles in 2022 and 2026.
• Commonwealth Games 2022 silver in Birmingham, where her 65 in the final was not enough against Australia.
• A historic Test win over England at Lord's in July 2026.
• T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and 2023, and the final in 2020, where India finished runners-up.
She first led India as a stand-in in 2012, took over as T20I captain in 2016, and became the all-format leader after Mithali Raj retired in 2022.
Harmanpreet Kaur's career beyond captaincy
Born in Moga, Punjab, Harmanpreet became a household name in 2017 with an unbeaten 171 against Australia in the Women's World Cup semi-final at Derby, one of the greatest innings in women's ODI history. It took India to the final and changed how women's cricket was seen in the country. That year she also received the Arjuna Award from President Ram Nath Kovind. In 2018 she became the first Indian woman to score a T20I century, against New Zealand at the T20 World Cup.
Her statement makes it clear she is not retiring. Without captaincy to worry about, NDTV said, she can focus on her attacking batting, which India will still need in the middle order.
Who will be India's new women's captain?
All the reports point to Smriti Mandhana. Cricbuzz reported that the BCCI wants to build the team around Mandhana, 30 and Harmanpreet's long-time deputy, for the next World Cup and, more importantly, for women's cricket at the LA 2028 Olympics. Mandhana has said she wants the job. "Yes, of course. I am ready," she told The Times of India after the Lord's Test win, as quoted by Mint. Mithali Raj told PTI that she had expected Mandhana to lead in ODIs two or three years ago.
A formal announcement is expected when the women's selection committee, led by Amita Sharma, meets to pick the squad for the Zimbabwe series. Cricbuzz said that meeting could happen as early as Tuesday, 6 October.
India vs Zimbabwe women 2026: schedule
The new captain's first assignment is a home white-ball series against Zimbabwe, the first time Zimbabwe Women will tour India for a bilateral series. According to Cricbuzz:
• T20Is: 16, 18 and 20 October, all in Raipur.
• ODIs: 23, 26 and 28 October in Baroda (Vadodara). They count towards the ICC Women's Championship 2025–29.
The end of an era
Harmanpreet's captaincy covered the biggest change in Indian women's cricket: a World Cup trophy, the Women's Premier League era, equal match fees and packed stadiums. She did not always get the timing of her exit on her own terms, but she leaves as the captain who finally won India a world title. "Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will," she wrote. The next chapter belongs to Mandhana, and the first test is just 10 days away.
Sources: Harmanpreet Kaur's Instagram statement via NDTV Sports and The Times of India; BBC Sport; ICC; Cricbuzz; The Hindu; Sportstar; Mint (6 October 2026); Google Trends India.
Cover photo: Harmanpreet Kaur with the 2025 Women's Cricket World Cup trophy, New Delhi, 5 November 2025 / Prime Minister's Office (PIB) via Wikimedia Commons, Government Open Data License – India; cropped, resized and captioned.