Smriti Mandhana Emerges as Front-Runner for India Captaincy
New Delhi: Veteran all-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all three international formats — Test, ODI and T20I. The 37-year-old announced her decision through an Instagram post, saying she remains committed to playing for India and is ready to continue her international career as a cricketer.
Harmanpreet has led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. Her decision came a day after the BCCI conducted a review meeting in Guwahati involving Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar. The meeting was chaired by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
Harmanpreet’s tenure included several landmark moments, including India’s historic maiden ICC Women’s ODI World Cup triumph in 2025. With her stepping aside, Smriti Mandhana has emerged as the leading contender to take charge across formats.
Questions over Harmanpreet’s captaincy had intensified after India’s early exit from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. She had previously expressed an ambition to lead India at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but her latest decision raises uncertainty over that possibility.
Harmanpreet first captained India in T20Is in 2012 and was subsequently given a more prominent leadership role after the 2016 T20 World Cup. Taking over from Mithali Raj, she guided India to the 2018 T20 World Cup semi-finals and later led the side to the runners-up spot at the 2020 edition.
Reflecting on her decision, Harmanpreet said stepping down was extremely difficult after years of memories, sacrifices and emotional moments. She said she had given her time, effort and, at times, personal ambitions to the team because she always believed that the team came first.
She added that despite difficult decisions and criticism during her tenure, her intention was always to strengthen the side and help fellow players develop confidence and reach their potential.
Harmanpreet said she was leaving the captaincy with a sense of pride and peace, confident that Indian women’s cricket was in a strong position. While her leadership chapter has ended, she stressed that her love for Indian cricket would remain unchanged and thanked her teammates, coaches, support staff, administrators, the BCCI, family and supporters for standing by her throughout the journey.
