Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of the India women’s cricket team across formats but intends to continue playing for the country. The BCCI announced the change on 6 October 2026 and credited Kaur with leading India through a significant period, including the team’s 2025 Women’s World Cup victory.
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BCCI president Mithun Manhas said Kaur’s contribution as captain would hold a “special place” in Indian cricket history. The board called the World Cup triumph the defining achievement of her tenure, according to the Times of India report.
BCCI highlights the 2025 World Cup triumph
The BCCI put India’s maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title at the centre of its tribute to Kaur’s captaincy. India defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the 2025 final in Navi Mumbai.
Kaur also scored 89 in the semi-final against Australia and shared a 167-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues. India completed a chase of 339 to reach the final.
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Manhas described the title as the result of years of progress, work and belief. He also cited India’s Asian Games gold medals and other victories during Kaur’s period as captain.
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Kaur’s captaincy developed across three formats
Kaur went from occasional captaincy to leading India across T20I, ODI and Test cricket. She first captained India in the 2012 Women’s T20 Asia Cup final against Pakistan after Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami were ruled out by injury. India won that final by 18 runs.
Kaur became India’s regular T20I captain in 2016. She then took over the ODI and Test captaincy in 2022 following Raj’s retirement.
India reached the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup final and won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games under Kaur. India also secured its first Asian Games gold and later defended the title in Nagoya, Japan.
Kaur’s individual record includes an unbeaten 171 against Australia in the 2017 Women’s World Cup semi-final. The source report also states that she became the first player to appear in 200 women’s T20Is and the first to captain in 150 T20Is.
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Kaur plans to continue playing for India
Kaur told the BCCI that she considered this the right time to hand over the captaincy and allow India to move forward under new leadership. She also made clear that her commitment to the national side had not changed.
The former captain said leading India had been one of the greatest honours of her life. Kaur added that she wanted to remain with the team as a player and support its future success.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia welcomed Kaur’s decision to continue playing. Saikia said her experience and influence could remain valuable to younger members of the squad as the team enters a new phase.
The report did not identify India’s next captain. Kaur remains available as a player while the BCCI prepares for the transition to new leadership.
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