Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as Team India's captain after 10 years

Harmanpreet Kaur has announced her resignation as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team in all formats, ending a nine-year tenure. She said it was time to fulfil her duties, and she is now ready to play purely for the enjoyment of the game.

Harmanpreet Kaur resigns from the captaincy in all formats

The announcement followed the review of the team’s performance in the last few months at a BCCI meeting held in Guwahati. This BCCI meeting was attended by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and head coach Amol Muzumdar.

She posted on Instagram, saying, "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." She further added, "I have given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket — my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions."

Harmanpreet Kaur has been leading the Indian team since 2012, when she skippered the side for a T20 match against Pakistan in Guangzhou. She was made the leader of the T20I team in 2016. After Mithali Raj’s retirement, she became the captain of ODIs in 2022 and of all formats in 2023.

The decision comes amid a series of excellent achievements by the team. India won gold in the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in Cricket, thereby clinching their second consecutive Gold medal at the event. A couple of weeks ago, India won the Asia Cup under the captaincy of Harmanpreet. But the defining achievement of her captaincy came last November, when India won their maiden ODI Women’s World Cup on home soil.

Harmanpreet Kaur has captained India in 211 international matches. She has led India in 51 One Day Internationals, winning 30 of them. India won 92 of the 155 T20Is under her captaincy, which makes it the highest number of victories for an Indian captain.

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