Harmanpreet Kaur, the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup-winning skipper, stepped down as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all three formats on Tuesday, drawing the curtain on one of Indian cricket history’s most transformative leadership eras.
Taking over the T20I mantle in 2016 and succeeding Mithali Raj as full-time all-format captain in 2022, she infused the dressing room with unapologetic aggression, tactical boldness, and an uncompromising will to win. 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup: The undisputed pinnacle of her career. Leading on home soil, she took the final catch against South Africa to secure India’s maiden 50-over World Cup title, joining Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni as the only Indian captains to lift the ODI World Cup. Four Asia Cup Trophies: From stepping in to lead a defense of 81 runs against Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup final, she featured at the helm across multiple Asia Cup triumphs (2012, 2016, 2022, and 2026). Across 211 international matches as captain, Harmanpreet accumulated 126 wins, establishing the highest win percentage (59.72%) of any captain in Indian women’s cricket history.
Harmanpreet’s tenure as India captain transformed Indian women’s cricket from perennial contenders into ruthless world champions. Test Dominance: Restoring red-ball cricket to prominence, her side secured landmark home Test victories against giants England and Australia, registering four wins out of five Tests. Before Harmanpreet, Indian women’s cricket was largely defined by defensive accumulation and classic orthodoxy. She modernized the side’s DNA:
Harmanpreet Kaur took charge of a team seeking identity on the global stage and left it as a world champion. Her era coincided with the explosion of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and BCCI pay parity, giving women’s cricket in India the cultural weight of mainstream sport.
