She made India fall in love with women's cricket - now her era as captain is over

What the report says

Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down as captain of the India women’s cricket team in all three formats, marking the end of a highly influential era for the side. BBC World News reported that the decision followed a review meeting involving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), coach Amol Muzumdar, Harmanpreet and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana. Mandhana, a long-time deputy, has been named captain across formats.

The leadership change comes less than a year after India’s historic 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup triumph, which the BBC said capped a period of major success for the team, including victories in the Asia Cup and Asian Games. Harmanpreet had led India since taking over the T20 role in 2016 and later becoming captain across all formats in 2022. According to the report, there had been debate over whether she should continue, especially after India’s underwhelming T20 World Cup campaign and a dip in her own batting form.

The BBC said Harmanpreet had been willing to give up the T20 captaincy but hoped to remain in charge in the other formats so younger players could continue learning from her experience. The BCCI instead opted for a younger leader in Mandhana. Harmanpreet later described the move as the start of a new chapter in an emotional social media post.

The article also placed her career in broader context, noting her 2017 World Cup semi-final century against Australia as a turning point for women’s cricket in India. It said that innings helped boost the game’s profile nationally, while her later captaincy brought major trophies and a more ambitious, attacking team identity.