ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup-winning captain Harmanpreet Kaur has decided to quit from her position as captain of the Indian team. The 37-year-old, who took the reins in the shortest format in 2016 and became full-time ODI and Test skipper in 2022 following Mithali Raj’s retirement, announced her departure across all formats in a lengthy Instagram statement while confirming she will continue playing. Calling it a difficult choice filled with years of memories and emotions, she stated she is ready to play for the love of the game again as her captaincy ends and her journey continues. Kaur leaves behind a legendary leadership record, having captained India in 5 Tests, 51 ODIs, and 155 T20Is—making her the first cricketer, male or female, to lead a side in over 150 T20I games. Her tenure peaked when she joined Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni as the only Indian captains to win a 50-over World Cup by securing a maiden title on home soil in November last year, alongside guiding India to gold medals at the 2022 and 2026 Asian Games, a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and multiple T20 World Cup semi-finals and finals.
