Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy: From building belief to lifting the World Cup

Harmanpreet Kaur’s decision to step down as India’s captain brings an end to one of the most significant leadership eras in women’s cricket. The 37-year-old relinquished the captaincy across all three formats on Tuesday, shortly after leading India to their second successive Asian Games gold medal. She will continue to play for India.
Her legacy, however, stretches well beyond the trophies. Harmanpreet helped shape an Indian team that increasingly believed it belonged in the biggest contests, whether at home or overseas. Previous captains had laid important foundations, but under Harmanpreet, India became a side that regularly challenged the strongest teams and expected to compete for titles.
That transformation was visible in bilateral cricket. India won an ODI series in England in 2022, their first bilateral WODI series victory there since 1999. A year later, Harmanpreet’s team recorded India’s first-ever Test win over Australia. In 2025, India also secured their first bilateral WT20I series victory in England.
There were difficult periods too. Harmanpreet faced criticism when results went against India, with questions raised over whether Smriti Mandhana should take over the leadership. Yet she remained in charge and continued to push the team forward. Her tenure ultimately ended on her own terms, with an Asian Games gold medal as her final assignment as captain.
Her numbers underline the scale of the responsibility she carried. Harmanpreet led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is, having taken charge of the T20I side in 2016 and becoming the full-time ODI and Test captain in 2022.
Then came the achievement that defined the era.
The 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup had been a long-standing pursuit for Indian cricket. Harmanpreet had experienced the heartbreak of the 2017 final and entered her fifth World Cup before finally lifting the trophy in Navi Mumbai. India defeated South Africa by 52 runs to win their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup, giving Harmanpreet the global title that had eluded her for years.
Her captaincy also brought Asian Games gold medals in 2022 and 2026, Asia Cup success and a Commonwealth Games silver.
In her farewell note, Harmanpreet wrote that difficult decisions were made with one intention: to make the team better and give other players the opportunity to grow and believe in themselves.
That may ultimately be the clearest measure of her captaincy. She leaves India with the World Cup trophy, but also with a team that learned to believe it could win it.