NEW DELHI: India women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur has announced her decision to step down from captaincy across all three international formats.
The 37-year-old made the announcement in an emotional Instagram post on Tuesday, saying that it was not an easy decision but that she believes the Indian team is in a strong position. She added that she now wants to focus on playing the sport she loves.
Harmanpreet captained the Indian team in five Test matches, 51 ODIs and 155 T20 internationals. Her last assignment as the captain of the Indian team was in the Asian Games last month when India won its second successive gold medal in the tournament.
This decision of hers has come in the wake of a great spell in which Harmanpreet has been able to guide the Indian women’s cricket team to its first-ever Women’s ODI World Cup title last year, thereby concluding her captaincy stint with the trophy.
In her farewell message, Harmanpreet Kaur has said that she has sacrificed a lot personally during her captaincy stint and has even taken many difficult decisions with the aim of promoting Indian women’s cricket.
She said she was stepping down with mixed emotions but felt reassured by the talent, character and confidence within the squad, adding that she believes the team has a bright future.
A day before the announcement, Kaur had met BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in Guwahati along with vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar. The meeting reportedly focused on the future roadmap of the women’s team.
Speculation over a possible leadership change had intensified in recent months after India were eliminated from the group stage of the T20 World Cup for a second consecutive time in June. Reports had also emerged of differences within the Indian selection committee over the captaincy.
