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The India Women’s National Cricket Team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, stepped down from the captaincy role of the side across formats on Tuesday. She announced it on her official social media handle. However, the BCCI reportedly wanted her to continue in ODIs and Test cricket, but she did not want to do so in those two formats.
Harmanpreet Kaur has been one of the finest captains for the side. She recently led India to the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 title and then a gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 in Japan. It was clear she would step down from the leadership role, as she will play 1-2 more years before retiring from the game.
Harmanpreet Kaur refused ODI and Test captaincy
As per a Cricbuzz report, Harmanpreet Kaur was given the option of retaining the ODI and Test captaincy, but she chose to give up both alongside the T20I captaincy. She has had an excellent career as a captain and will now only play as a batter in the team; given her experience, she will have a role to play in guiding the youngsters.
⚡️ Cricbuzz understands that Harmanpreet Kaur was apparently given the option of retaining the ODI and Test captaincy, but she chose to give up both https://t.co/mEJmV3BLHu
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) October 6, 2026
On Monday, BCCI held a review meeting held in Guwahati following an evaluation of the team's recent performances, attended by Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and head coach Amol Muzumdar. The meeting was led by secretary Devajit Saikia, as the board now wants to build a team around a new captain for the forthcoming major events.
Harmanpreet Kaur's record as India captain
Harmanpreet Kaur took over the T20I captaincy in 2016 and was made full-time captain across formats upon Mithali Raj’s retirement in 2022. After that, she has provided the Women in Blue with some amazing accolades across formats. She has the record for captaining the most matches in T20Is across men's and women's cricket combined; she has done so in 155 T20I matches.
Under Harmanpreet, the team won their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title in 2025. She also led India to wins in the 2012, 2016, and 2022 editions of the Asia Cup, along with gold medals at the 2022 and 2026 Asian Games.
Kaur also helped India win a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and her team beat England by 270 runs in the first-ever women's Test match played at Lord's Cricket Ground. She also led India to their first bilateral WODI series win over England since 1999.
Smriti Mandhana to take over as India captain
Smriti Mandhana has been India’s best batter across formats, is also the vice-captain of the side, and is the frontrunner to become the next captain of the side across formats. The Southpaw has experience leading the Women in Blue in the absence of Harmanpreet and also leads her WPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Mandhana has led India in 22 matches, mostly in the T20Is, in which she has won 15 matches. She might have learnt a lot from Kaur while she was there as the vice-captain, and Kaur will also help her in terms of decision-making during high-pressure situations once the former is appointed as the captain.
