Harmanpreet Kaur Quits as India Women's Captain in All Formats, Two Weeks After Asian Games Gold

Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of the Indian women's cricket team across all formats, she announced in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

The decision comes two weeks after she led India to gold at the Asian Games 2026 in Japan, where the team beat Sri Lanka in the final in Nisshin on September 22. It is India's second successive Asian Games gold in the sport, after Hangzhou in 2022. The move takes effect immediately.

"Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women's Cricket Team across all formats. This is not an easy decision," Harmanpreet wrote. She said it carried years of memories, emotions and sacrifices.

She said she had given the team and Indian women's cricket "my blood, my sweat, my time," and at times a part of her own game and ambitions. "There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first," she said.

She added that she had made difficult decisions that were "not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost." Each, she said, was meant to make the team better and give other players the chance to grow.

"I LEAVE WITH PEACE"

Harmanpreet said she had seen the lowest moments, the heartbreak, the criticism and the doubts, as well as the victories and celebrations. "I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions, but also with PEACE," she wrote, saying she believed her team was in a good place, with "talent, character, belief and a future."

"I feel I have done my duty. I gave this team everything I had," she said. "Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will."

She thanked her teammates, coaches, support staff, management, the BCCI, her family and fans. "Captaincy ends. The journey continues," she said, adding that she was ready to play for the love of the game again.

HER CAPTAINCY IN NUMBERS

Harmanpreet is 37. She led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is, ETV Bharat reported. Her most notable achievement came in 2025, when she led India to their first ODI World Cup title, in Navi Mumbai.

Her last Test as captain was against England at Lord's in July 2026, according to Wikipedia's record of her career. Her last ODI was against Australia in Hobart on March 1, 2026, and her last T20I was the Asian Games final.

A CAREER OF FIRSTS

Born in Moga, Punjab, on March 8, 1989, Harmanpreet is an all-rounder with more than 8,000 international runs, Wikipedia records. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2026.

Under her captaincy, India also won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the team now holds the World Cup, the Women's Asia Cup and the Asian Games titles. India's Asian Games golds in 2022 and 2026 and the Commonwealth silver came with her in charge.

The BCCI is yet to name a successor, and none was named in the reports I found. India's women's side is coached by Amol Muzumdar.

With inputs from ANI