India’s World Cup-winning captain Harmanpreet steps down

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has officially stepped down from leading the national team across all three cricket formats. The 37-year-old batter famously led India to their first-ever global women's title on home soil at the 2025 50-over World Cup, defeating South Africa in the final. Her final act as skipper was securing a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal by defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs.

Harmanpreet captained India in five Tests, 51 one-day internationals, and 155 T20 internationals after initially taking the T20 captaincy in 2016. Smriti Mandhana is widely expected to succeed her as captain. Announcing her decision on Instagram, Harmanpreet stated she gave everything to the role and intends to continue playing as a team member.