NEW DELHI (AP) — Harmanpreet Kaur, the only cricketer to lead India to a Women's World Cup title, gave up the captaincy after 10 years on Tuesday.
“I feel I have done my duty. I gave this team everything I had,” the 37-year-old Kaur said.
One of the greatest match-winners for India said she often put aside personal goals for the team. Kaur first captained India as a stand-in at the 2012 Women's T20 Asia Cup and led them to the title. She became the full-time Twenty20 captain in 2016, was elevated to the one-day international captaincy in 2022 and took over as the all-format leader in 2023. This year, Kaur became the most-capped international player in women's cricket.
Her other highlights include India's maiden ODI World Cup triumph last year in Navi Mumbai and successive T20 Asian Games gold medals, most recently in Japan last month.
Kaur had spoken of leading the team to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, for which India has qualified, but her mind was changed after a team review meeting with Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia, coach Amol Muzumdar and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana.
“Harmanpreet Kaur's contribution as captain will always hold a special place in the history of Indian cricket,” BCCI president Mithun Manhas said.
Kaur will continue to be available as a player. She said, "I'm ready to play for the love of the game again."
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