Harmanpreet's captaincy: 211 matches, one WC and a debate that never went away
Harmanpreet Kaur has concluded her 14-year tenure as India's women's cricket captain, having led the team in 211 matches across all formats. Despite achieving significant milestones like an ODI World Cup win and Asian Games gold, her leadership was frequently subject to public debate and calls for replacement.
Why it matters
Her departure marks the end of a transformative era for Indian women's cricket, highlighting the intense scrutiny and high expectations placed on female athletes in leadership roles.
Harmanpreet Kaur's captaincy began with a final and ended with one.In 2012, with Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami unavailable, Harmanpreet was handed the captaincy as a stand-in for the T20 Asia Cup final against Pakistan. Fourteen years later, her final match in charge was another final - India's 147-run win over Sri Lanka in the Asian Games gold-medal match.In between came 211 matches as captain, 126 wins, eight title or gold-medal finishes, India's first women's ODI World Cup triumph and the most T20I captaincy appearances in international cricket.Her leadership spanned 5074 days, beginning with that stand-in appearance in 2012 and ending with Asian Games gold in 2026. She leaves with a 59.7% win rate across formats.The 37-year-old took the reins in the shortest format full-time in 2016. After Mithali Raj's departure from international cricket in 2022, Harmanpreet became India's full-time ODI and Test captain as well.
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