India's only World Cup-winning women's cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Tuesday stepped down from her position in all three formats, saying that she has done her duty as leader and is now "ready to play for the love of the game again."
The 37-year-old's announcement came after a BCCI review meeting in Guwahati to evaluate the team's trajectory in the past few months. Chaired by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, the meeting was attended by Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar.
Mandhana, who has recently been vocal about her ambitions to lead the 'Women in Blue', is the front-runner to take over as the next captain.
"Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women's Cricket Team across all formats," Harmanpreet, who has been enduring a lean patch for a while now, wrote in an Instagram post.
"This is not an easy decision. It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices, and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life," added the right-hander, who had earlier spoken about wanting to lead the team till at least the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics for which India have already qualified.
Harmanpreet led the Indian T20 side for a decade, taking over as skipper in 2016. She was elevated to ODI captaincy in 2022 before becoming the all-format leader in 2023.
"I feel I have done my duty. I gave this team everything I had. I carried the responsibility with pride, and I will always be grateful for the privilege of leading Indian women's cricket," said the player who hails from Moga in Punjab.She will, however, continue to play for India across formats.
"Now, it is time for me to turn the page. Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will. Blood. Sweat. Sacrifice. Pride. I gave it all. Now, I'm ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues," she said.
In her emotional statement, the veteran batter said she gave the team everything she had as its captain and often put aside her personal goals to fulfill her duties.
"...my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions. There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first," she wrote.
Under Harmanpreet, who is widely regarded as one of India's greatest cricketers of all time, the Indian team won its maiden ODI World Cup last year, and recently claimed a second successive gold medal at the Asian Games (T20 format). She also captained India to a silver finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
In all, Harmanpreet led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is.
"As a captain, I have had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that were not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost.
"But every decision I made was with one intention - to make this TEAM better and to give other players the opportunity to grow, believe in themselves and become the best versions of themselves."
However, after India's failure to qualify for the T20 World Cup semi-finals earlier this year and her underwhelming returns with the bat, especially in the T20 format, the chorus of criticism was growing with former players like Diana Edulji advocating Mandhana's elevation.
"I have seen it all. I have seen the lowest moments, the heartbreak, the criticism, the doubts and the days when nothing seemed to go our way. And I have also experienced the highest highs - the victories, the celebrations, the pride of representing our country, and the moments that made every sacrifice worth it," Harmanpreet said.
She said she was leaving the captaincy "with a heart full of emotions, but also with peace."
"Because I genuinely believe my team is in a good place...A team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am incredibly excited to watch and be a part of," she said in her post, which was accompanied with a picture of her facing the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground.
