Harmanpreet Kaur Steps Down as India Women's Captain Across Formats, Smriti Mandhana Set to Take Over

Harmanpreet Kaur has given up the captaincy of the Indian women's cricket team in all three formats with immediate effect, closing one of the most successful leadership spells in the side's history. She announced the decision on Tuesday in a long social media post, a day after a review meeting with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Guwahati.

The 37-year-old is not retiring. She said she will keep playing for India in every format and described the decision as a chance to play "for the love of the game" again.

A review meeting, then a statement

The Guwahati meeting on October 5 brought together Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, head coach Amol Muzumdar and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia to look back at the team's recent results. Within hours of that review, Harmanpreet announced she was stepping aside.

In her statement she spoke openly about the personal cost of the job, writing that she had often put the team ahead of her own batting and ambitions, and that some of her decisions as captain had been misunderstood. She said she was leaving the role at peace, convinced the squad was in good shape.

The record she leaves behind

Harmanpreet captained India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is, winning four Tests, 30 ODIs and 92 T20Is. Her defining moment came in November 2025, when India beat South Africa in Navi Mumbai to win their first Women's ODI World Cup, making her the only Indian captain to lift that trophy.

Her final act as skipper was another title. India retained their Asian Games gold in Japan last week, thrashing Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final. That was also the Indian contingent's first gold of the Games.

As T20I captain she has scored 3,416 runs, second only to Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu among women skippers. The one prize she never won was the T20 World Cup. India reached the 2020 final under her but lost to Australia, and they missed the semi-finals at the most recent edition.

Mandhana the likely successor

The BCCI has not yet confirmed a new captain, but Smriti Mandhana is widely expected to take over in all formats. The opener has often led the side when Harmanpreet was unavailable. She has captained India in four ODIs and 18 T20Is and has not lost a T20I as stand-in skipper. She has also won two Women's Premier League titles with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. An announcement could come when selectors pick the squad for the next series.

What comes next

The new captain's first assignment is a home series against Zimbabwe, with three T20Is and three ODIs between October 16 and 28. After that India tour South Africa for a one-off Test, three ODIs and three T20Is.

The bigger target is the first Women's ICC Champions Trophy, a T20 tournament India will host from February 15 to 28, 2027. With India ranked third in both ODIs and T20Is, the new leader will be expected to turn a squad that already wins trophies into one that wins the shortest format as well.

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