Harmanpreet Kaur: From heartbreak to glory, the captain walks away with her head held high

For years, this question followed Harmanpreet Kaur everywhere. Should she continue as India’s captain? Is it time to pass the baton to the next generation? After every disappointing tournament, every failure with the bat and every painful exit, the debate returned.

On Tuesday, October 6 the answer finally came from Harmanpreet herself.

The 37-year-old stepped down as India’s captain across all formats, bringing the curtain down on one of the busiest managerial careers in women’s cricket. She will continue to play for India, but the captain’s hat is no longer hers given by Smriti Mandhana.

There may have been an argument for Harmanpreet to retire from the lead after India’s historic ODI World Cup triumph last year. She finally achieved the one prize that had eluded her for so long. But she stayed. She led India to the Women’s Asia Cup title in September and then led them to their second gold medal at the Asian Games in October.

What better way to leave than with more gold around your neck?

1 Incredible Captain Countless A look back at the truly extraordinary journey that has defined captain Harmanpreet Kaur #TeamIndia BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 6, 2026

Harmanpreet did not leave after the setback. She didn’t leave with questions hanging over her. She bowed out after leading India to another major title with her head held high and her duty, she said, accomplished.

I WILL NOT TAKE OVER

Harmanpreet’s captaincy journey was never meant to be easy. She took over as India’s full-time T20I captain in 2016, at a time when the team was still searching for direction in the shortest format. India suffered a miserable campaign in the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup at home, winning just one of their four group matches and failing to reach the semi-finals. Harmanpreet was soon tasked with leading the team forward.

She brought something different to the leading role. There was aggression, instinct and a willingness to take risks. More importantly, she was prepared to bear the weight of expectation.

Then came the shifts that changed the world’s view of her.

Her unbeaten 171 against Australia in the semi-final of the 2017 Women’s World Cup remains one of the defining knocks in Indian women’s cricket. It carried India to the final and turned Harmanpreet into a global name. India eventually lost the Lord’s final to England, but something changed.

The belief that India could compete with the world’s top was no longer theoretical. Harmanpreet helped create it.

But the grief was just beginning.

CAPTAIN’S WEIGHT

The hardest part of being India’s captain wasn’t always what happened on the field.

In 2018, Harmanpreet found herself at the center of one of the worst controversies in Indian women’s cricket. Mithali Raj was left out of the T20 World Cup semi-final against England despite scoring two half-centuries earlier in the tournament. India lost by eight wickets and the decision became a national talking point.

Harmanpreet defended the selection process and she said she has no regrets. The resistance was fierce. Mithali’s manager publicly attacked the captain and the controversy became so exhausting that Harmanpreet later admitted that she considered quitting cricket altogether.

It was her first lesson in what leadership meant to her. The captain could make decisions for the team and still have to bear the consequences himself.

Two years later, Harmanpreet took India to a place they had never been before. India reached their first Women’s T20 World Cup final in front of 86,174 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The final against Australia ended in disappointment, but reaching this stage was another significant step forward.

There has been no trophy yet for Harmanpreet. But the dream was coming.

CRUELEST HEARTBREAK

Perhaps no moment captured the cruel side of Harmanpreet’s captaincy better than the 2023 T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia.

Chasing 173 in Cape Town, India were reduced to 28 for 3. Harmanpreet, who battled illness to field, joined Jemimah Rodrigues and pulled India back into the contest with a 69-run partnership. She began to take the game away from Australia, bringing up a 32-ball fifty as India moved into touch.

Then came one of the harshest layoffs of her career.

Harmanpreet heads to the deep and goes for two. Ashleigh Gardner stopped the boundary and the throw came back towards Alyssa Healy. The second ride looked comfortable.

But as Harmanpreet slid her bat towards the crease, she dug into the ground and got stuck.

Healy responded immediately, dropping the bails and Harmanpreet was out for 52. India eventually lost five runs to finish at 167 for 8.

For a moment, Harmanpreet just couldn’t believe what had happened. She returned in disbelief before her frustration passed.

India was so close.

Harmanpreet once again played the role of a fighter, only for another World Cup dream to slip away in the cruelest of ways.

This became another defining image of her captaincy: India fighting back from the brink, Harmanpreet leading from the front, yet glory remained elusive.

WAIT FOR GLORY

The following years brought both progress and frustration. India won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, after which Harmanpreet led the team to its first gold at the 2023 Asian Games. Under her leadership, India also secured their first Test win over Australia, while the team continued to grow across formats during her tenure.

However, the big ICC trophy remained out of reach.

Lost the 2017 World Cup final by nine runs. The final of the T20 World Cup 2020 ended in a heavy defeat. India continued to produce talented players and competitive teams, but the final step remained in sight.

And Harmanpreet’s waiting was especially painful. She was there for quasi-missions. She was there for criticism. She was there when India came close enough to touch history but not close enough to hold it.

Then came 2025.

India’s home World Cup campaign didn’t get off to a smooth start, but the team found its rhythm when it mattered. In the semi-final against Australia, Harmanpreet made an important 89 in a match winning partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues. India reached the final, where South Africa stood between them and history.

There was no heartbreak this time.

India won by 52 runs in Navi Mumbai to claim their first Women’s Cricket World Cup title. Harmanpreet became the first Indian woman to captain a country for a senior World Cup trophy, joining Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni as the only Indian captains to win a senior World Cup.

The wait was finally over.

QUESTIONS BEFORE FAREWELL

And yet, even after reaching the pinnacle, questions about Harmanpreet’s future as captain never quite went away.

Her batting form was becoming more and more part of the conversation. As the runs dried up, the focus on her leadership became even tougher. India also endured a disappointing campaign in the T20 World Cup and there were renewed calls for a change in management after the team’s matches.

It wasn’t hard to see why.

Harmanpreet was no longer the young leader who took over in 2016. There was a new generation with Smriti Mandhana and some younger players ready to take on more responsibility.

But Harmanpreet continued.

She led India to the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup title, their record eighth crown, and then steered them to another gold at the Asian Games in Japan. India beat Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final, giving Harmanpreet another gold medal as captain.

And maybe it was the perfect final chapter.

A legacy beyond numbers

Harmanpreet leaves behind numbers that tell only part of the story.

She bows with the victory as the most successful women’s T20I captain, having guided India through changing generations and changing expectations for years. She became the first female cricketer to captain in 150 T20Is and one of the most capped players in international cricket.

However, her greatest contribution cannot be measured only by winnings.

She helped take Indian women’s cricket from the pain of almost winning to the belief that winning is possible. She experienced a heartbreaking 2017, the controversy of 2018, the tears in Melbourne in 2020 and the pressure that came with each setback.

And then she finally held the World Cup trophy.

She could leave then. She could tell the job was done.

Instead, she stayed another year, won the Asian Cup, won another Asian Games gold and then decided it was time.

That matters.

Harmanpreet’s farewell is not the story of a captain who is forced to leave after the latest disappointment. It is the story of a leader who chose his moment after completing a journey that has tested almost every part of it.

He is leaving the captaincy but not Indian cricket.

The hat is gone. Memories remain.

Grief remains too. As well as tears, fights, arguments and moments when it all seemed too much.

But above all fame.

Harmanpreet Kaur departs as a World Cup-winning captain, two-time Asian Games gold winner and India’s most successful women’s T20I captain.

Most importantly, he leaves with his head held high.

– The end