India Women's Cricket Captain Harmanpreet Kaur Quits Leadership Role Across Formats

Key facts

• Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of India's women's cricket team across all three formats, announcing her decision in an Instagram post on October 6, 2026.
• The 37-year-old led India to its maiden women's ODI World Cup title and captained India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is.
• She first captained India in T20Is in 2012, took over full-time from Mithali Raj in 2018, and became all-format leader in 2023.
• Under her leadership, India reached the T20 World Cup semifinals in 2018 and finished runners-up in 2020; her last assignment was retaining the Asian Games gold medal in Nisshin.
• Her decision clears the way for Smriti Mandhana to take over, starting with India's home series against Zimbabwe.