She made India fall in love with women's cricket - now her era as captain is over — SkimNews
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- Harmanpreet Kaur relinquished the India captaincy at a BCCI review meeting, ending a reign that began when she succeeded Mithali Raj as T20I captain in 2016 and expanded to all formats in 2022.
- Smriti Mandhana, the 30-year-old opener and Harmanpreet's long-time deputy, was appointed captain across all formats after the BCCI pushed for a younger leader over Harmanpreet's preference to retain the ODI and Test roles.
- Harmanpreet's exit followed a below-par India showing at the T20 World Cup in England and a dip in her own batting form, which intensified scrutiny as she approached her 38th birthday.
- Diana Edulji backed the change as overdue, while former captain Anjum Chopra argued Harmanpreet's experience was indispensable — a split among ex-players that mirrored the BCCI's internal debate.
- The 2025 ODI World Cup — sealed by an 89 from Harmanpreet and a Jemimah Rodrigues century in the semi-final win over Australia, then a final victory over South Africa — bookended her reign alongside the 2017 semi-final century that made her a household name.
- Harmanpreet's playing future remains unresolved; the article notes the women's talent pipeline is shallower than the men's, complicating any decision to drop a player of her stature unlike Suryakumar Yadav, who lost both captaincy and T20 spot after India's men's World Cup win.
- Harmanpreet announced the decision in an emotional Instagram post, writing 'I feel I have done my duty... Captaincy ends, the journey continues.'
Why it matters: Mandhana inherits a team less than a year removed from its first ODI World Cup title and fresh off Asia Cup and Asian Games golds — a high floor to defend, but with Harmanpreet's successor already named, India's selectors must now decide whether to keep the 37-year-old playing or follow the men's precedent of moving on entirely.
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