India women’s long-serving captain Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down from captaincy in all three formats. The 37-year-old said she had fulfilled her responsibility as captain and is now ready to return to the game without the pressure of leading the side.“Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team across all formats,” she posted on her Instagram account.‘This is not an easy decision’Harmanpreet said giving up the captaincy was an emotional decision after years of leading India.“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,” Harmanpreet said in a lengthy statement.She also made it clear that stepping down as captain does not mean the end of her international career.“Now, I’m ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues,” she added.A decade as T20I captainHarmanpreet took charge of India’s T20I team in 2016 and remained in the role for 10 years. She became the ODI captain in 2022 before taking over as the all-format leader in 2023.Her time as captain included some of India women’s biggest achievements. Under her leadership, India won their maiden ODI World Cup in November last year and recently secured a second successive Asian Games gold in the T20 format.Harmanpreet said she was stepping away from leadership with confidence in the team’s future.“I’m leaving the captaincy with a heart full of emotions, but also with peace,” she said.“Because I genuinely believe my team is in a good place,” she said.
