Photo via Hindustan Times

Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as India captain after 10 years: ‘Team in a good place; I’ve done my duty’

India women’s cricket icon Harmanpreet Kaur has announced her immediate retirement as captain across all formats, concluding a historic tenure that spanned over a decade. Her leadership journey began in 2012 during a T20 match against Pakistan, with her officially taking charge in the format in 2016.

She later became the full-time ODI captain in 2022 following Mithali Raj’s retirement and was named all-format leader in 2023. Kaur’s final decision followed a BCCI review meeting in Guwahati, attended by officials including secretary Devajit Saikia, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and head coach Amol Muzumdar, where her team’s recent trajectory was assessed.

Her captaincy included guiding India to their maiden ODI World Cup victory on home soil last November, alongside back-to-back Asian Games gold medals and a record eighth Asia Cup title under her leadership. In 211 matches as captain, she led India to 30 ODI wins, 92 T20I wins—the most by any Indian skipper in white-ball cricket—and just one Test loss in five games.

Kaur emphasized in a personal statement that she was stepping down to return to playing ‘for the love of the game,’ leaving with pride in the team’s current standing and a legacy of emotional milestones across formats.

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