Harmanpreet Kaur makes history, becomes first cricketer to captain in 150 T20Is

ByTech Word News

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur (Image: IANS) Harmanpreet Kaur on Saturday made history by becoming the first cricketer, male or female, to captain 150 T20Is.The India captain hit the milestone during the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 Group A clash against Pakistan in Dubai. India have already secured their place in the semi-finals and will be aiming to complete the group stage with a perfect three wins from three.Harmanpreet, who has been one of the defining figures in India’s T20I history, now sits comfortably at the top of the list for most matches as the captain of the format. Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu is second with 121 caps, followed by Australia’s Meg Lanning with 100 and England’s Heather Knight and Rwanda’s Diane Bimenyimana with 96 caps.

Most matches as captain in Women’s T20Is

  • 150* – Harmanpreet Kaur (IND-W)
  • 121 – Chamari Athapaththu (SL-W)
  • 100 – Meg Lanning (AUS-W)
  • 96 – Heather Knight (ENG-W)
  • 96 – Diane Bimenymana (RWA-W)

Reflecting on the milestone, Harmanpreet played down the significance of the number and stressed the importance of continuing to enjoy cricket.“A great achievement. But the key is to keep enjoying the field and that’s the key. I’m trying to keep up with that,” Harmanpreet said when asked about leading India to 150 in T20Is.

Harmanpreet leaves Dhoni and the men’s captains far behind

Harmanpreet’s landmark also puts her well ahead of the leading men’s captains in T20I cricket. Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus currently holds the men’s record with 91 matches as captain, for India, former captain MS Dhoni led the team in most men’s T20Is with 72 matches as captain, placing him ninth overall on the list.

Pakistan chose to bat first against India

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to bat first against India. Pakistan are aiming for their second win in the group stage after defeating Thailand in their opening match. Meanwhile, India entered the competition on the back of comprehensive wins over Thailand and Hong Kong.India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud.Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali (week), Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Fatima Sana (c), Umm-e-Hani, Eyman Fatima, Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.