Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of India’s women’s cricket team across all international formats, the International Cricket Council confirmed on October 6. The change takes effect immediately.
The 37-year-old began leading India’s T20I side in 2016 and became the full-time ODI and Test captain in 2022, following Mithali Raj’s retirement from international cricket. Her departure from the role closes a leadership tenure spanning different formats and several tournament cycles.
The ICC described Harmanpreet as India’s Women’s Cricket World Cup-winning skipper. Her decision concerns the captaincy: stepping down from a leadership position does not automatically mean retirement from playing.
Across formats, a captain’s responsibilities differ with the length and pace of the match. Test cricket requires decisions over multiple days, while limited-overs games involve managing bowling allocations and field changes within a fixed innings. The announcement therefore affects leadership across three distinct competitions.
The ICC’s initial announcement did not name a successor. Readers should distinguish the confirmed change in captaincy from any speculation about who will lead India next.
