Change of guard in Indian women's cricket: Smriti Mandhana replaces Harmanpreet Kaur as captain
toi
newspoint|07-10-2026
Mumbai: A change of guard formally took place in Indian women’s cricket on Tuesday as Harmanpreet Kaur , 37, stepped down as captain across all three formats and was replaced by Smriti Mandhana , 30.
Harmanpreet , who captained India to its first women’s global title in the 2025 ODI World Cup and most recently led the team’s successful defence of the Asian Games gold medal, announced her decision in an emotional Instagram post. She said she would continue as a player and was “ready to play for the love of the game again”.
Harmanpreet was reportedly offered the option of continuing as ODI captain but chose to give up leadership across formats. Her decision was not entirely unexpected, with pressure building over India’s T20I results and her own recent form.
The Indian cricket board ( BCCI ) announced Mandhana as India’s new captain across formats on Tuesday evening.
The announcement came a day after Harmanpreet, Mandhana, head coach Amol Muzumdar and the national selectors met BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in Guwahati to review the women’s team’s performance since June and discuss the roadmap ahead of the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in India next February. They met again on Tuesday.
“Today, I step down as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all formats. This is not an easy decision,” Harmanpreet wrote, adding, “It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I’ve given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket — my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions.”
Harmanpreet said every decision she made as captain was driven by the team’s interests.
“I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions, but also with peace,” she wrote. “Because I genuinely believe my team is in a good place — a team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am incredibly excited to watch and be a part of.”
New captain Mandhana, who was vice-captain under Harmanpreet, has been in prolific form in recent years and is the leading run-getter in women’s cricket across formats, with 11,066 runs in 308 matches. She also leads the run charts in women’s T20Is with 4,867 runs in 172 games.
Mandhana has also captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two Women’s Premier League titles, in 2024 and 2026. In an interview with TOI on July 15, she had said she was “ready for the India captaincy”.
“I’d like to acknowledge Harmanpreet and the contribution she has made as captain over the years. She has led the team with great commitment and has been an important part of our journey. I understand the responsibility that comes with the role,” Mandhana was quoted as saying in a BCCI statement.
Harmanpreet’s captaincy came under scrutiny after India’s league-stage exit at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in June, following a similar disappointment in the UAE in 2024. Her returns with the bat had also dipped — 71 runs in five matches at the 2026 Asia Cup and 59 runs in three matches at the Asian Games.
India, however, responded strongly under her, winning the one-off Test against England at Lord’s in July, the Asia Cup in the UAE and defending their Asian Games gold in Japan last month. That triumph in Nisshin was Harmanpreet’s final act as captain.
Harmanpreet captained India for a decade — in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. She first led India in T20Is in 2012, became full-time T20I captain in 2016 and was in charge when India reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup and the final in 2020. She took over the ODI captaincy in 2022 after Mithali Raj moved on and became India’s all-format skipper in 2023.
In ODIs, Harmanpreet won 30 of her 51 matches as captain. Her crowning moment came at the 2025 Women’s World Cup, where India mounted a dramatic turnaround and beat South Africa in the final in Navi Mumbai. Harmanpreet also took the catch that sealed the title.
During her tenure, India won three Asia Cups, the 2025 ODI World Cup, two Asian Games gold medals and a Commonwealth Games silver.
Former India captain Diana Edulji called Harmanpreet’s decision “a step in the right direction”.
“It’s time to move on. Harman has performed well as captain. She has taken the Indian women’s cricket team to the highest level,” Edulji told TOI.
Harmanpreet , who captained India to its first women’s global title in the 2025 ODI World Cup and most recently led the team’s successful defence of the Asian Games gold medal, announced her decision in an emotional Instagram post. She said she would continue as a player and was “ready to play for the love of the game again”.
Harmanpreet was reportedly offered the option of continuing as ODI captain but chose to give up leadership across formats. Her decision was not entirely unexpected, with pressure building over India’s T20I results and her own recent form.
The Indian cricket board ( BCCI ) announced Mandhana as India’s new captain across formats on Tuesday evening.
The announcement came a day after Harmanpreet, Mandhana, head coach Amol Muzumdar and the national selectors met BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in Guwahati to review the women’s team’s performance since June and discuss the roadmap ahead of the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in India next February. They met again on Tuesday.
“Today, I step down as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all formats. This is not an easy decision,” Harmanpreet wrote, adding, “It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I’ve given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket — my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions.”
Harmanpreet said every decision she made as captain was driven by the team’s interests.
“I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions, but also with peace,” she wrote. “Because I genuinely believe my team is in a good place — a team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am incredibly excited to watch and be a part of.”
New captain Mandhana, who was vice-captain under Harmanpreet, has been in prolific form in recent years and is the leading run-getter in women’s cricket across formats, with 11,066 runs in 308 matches. She also leads the run charts in women’s T20Is with 4,867 runs in 172 games.
Mandhana has also captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two Women’s Premier League titles, in 2024 and 2026. In an interview with TOI on July 15, she had said she was “ready for the India captaincy”.
“I’d like to acknowledge Harmanpreet and the contribution she has made as captain over the years. She has led the team with great commitment and has been an important part of our journey. I understand the responsibility that comes with the role,” Mandhana was quoted as saying in a BCCI statement.
Harmanpreet’s captaincy came under scrutiny after India’s league-stage exit at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in June, following a similar disappointment in the UAE in 2024. Her returns with the bat had also dipped — 71 runs in five matches at the 2026 Asia Cup and 59 runs in three matches at the Asian Games.
India, however, responded strongly under her, winning the one-off Test against England at Lord’s in July, the Asia Cup in the UAE and defending their Asian Games gold in Japan last month. That triumph in Nisshin was Harmanpreet’s final act as captain.
Harmanpreet captained India for a decade — in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. She first led India in T20Is in 2012, became full-time T20I captain in 2016 and was in charge when India reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup and the final in 2020. She took over the ODI captaincy in 2022 after Mithali Raj moved on and became India’s all-format skipper in 2023.
In ODIs, Harmanpreet won 30 of her 51 matches as captain. Her crowning moment came at the 2025 Women’s World Cup, where India mounted a dramatic turnaround and beat South Africa in the final in Navi Mumbai. Harmanpreet also took the catch that sealed the title.
During her tenure, India won three Asia Cups, the 2025 ODI World Cup, two Asian Games gold medals and a Commonwealth Games silver.
Former India captain Diana Edulji called Harmanpreet’s decision “a step in the right direction”.
“It’s time to move on. Harman has performed well as captain. She has taken the Indian women’s cricket team to the highest level,” Edulji told TOI.
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