Smriti Mandhana takes India captaincy as Harmanpreet Kaur steps down

Smriti Mandhana has been appointed captain of India's women's cricket team across all formats after Harmanpreet Kaur relinquished the role on October 6. The ICC confirmed the handover, which follows India's first Women's Cricket World Cup title under Harmanpreet in 2025. Harmanpreet intends to continue playing internationally, making this a change of leadership rather than a retirement announcement.

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Mandhana takes over with experience of leading India as a stand-in. According to the ICC, the left-handed opener has captained the country in 18 Twenty20 internationals and four one-day internationals since making her international debut in 2013. She has also led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two Women's Premier League titles, adding franchise success to her experience as Harmanpreet's deputy.

In comments carried by the ICC, Mandhana described her appointment as an honour and recognised her predecessor's contribution to the team. She said she understood the responsibility involved and wanted to work with the players to move Indian cricket forward. India's next assignment is a home series against Zimbabwe beginning October 16, comprising three T20 internationals followed by three ODIs.

Harmanpreet, 37, leaves a captaincy record spanning five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20 internationals, the ICC reported. She became the regular T20 captain in 2016 and took responsibility for the ODI and Test sides in 2022 after Mithali Raj retired. Her final assignment in charge ended with India retaining their Asian Games gold medal.

The BCCI's tribute highlighted the 2025 World Cup campaign. Harmanpreet scored 89 and shared a 167-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues in the semi-final against Australia as India completed a chase of 339. The team then beat South Africa by 52 runs in Navi Mumbai to secure the title.

Her earlier achievements as captain included reaching the 2020 T20 World Cup final and winning Commonwealth Games silver in 2022. The BCCI also recalled her first experience leading India in the 2012 Women's T20 Asia Cup final, when injuries to Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami preceded an 18-run win over Pakistan.

In her message to the BCCI, Harmanpreet said she had considered the decision carefully and believed the time was right for new leadership. She expressed a wish to keep contributing as a player and to support both her successor and younger team-mates.