When Harmanpreet Kaur announced her decision to step down as India's all-format captain during a media interaction on Tuesday, October 6, it marked an end to a significant era for the team. The new leadership decision came after senior-most player Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and head coach Amol Muzumdar held a high-level roadmap meeting in Guwahati a day earlier. It was the closure of her chapter as the leader of the Women in Blue, who have made stupendous progress under her captaincy.
Harmanpreet has been a successful leader of the team, having led India to 5 Test matches, 51 ODIs, and an extraordinary 155 T20I fixtures. She will now move on as a player who has laid the foundation for the next phase of growth in women's cricket in India. The veteran batter wrote in her social media post while bidding adieu to the captaincy, saying that she leaves the team in good hands to enjoy playing for the game's sake and play for the love of the game again.
Harmanpreet Kaur's stint as the Women in Blue leader seems symbolic of Rohit Sharma's incredible journey as the men's team captain
1. The Summit of Success: World Cup Victories on Local & International Arenas
Both leaders carved their nicknames in the stone of the history of the sport by achieving one of the most elusive global honours, securing the title with a mighty innings when it was needed most.
For Harmanpreet, the pride of the nation was the one and only ODI World Cup that took place in the country in 2025. After tasting the agony of two consecutive group-stage losses against South Africa, Australia, and England, the Women in Blue staged a remarkable comeback. They defeated Australia in the semi-final and pushed past South Africa in the final. Harmanpreet played an anchor-man's innings in the final, scoring 260 runs at a strike rate of 89.04, including an unbeaten 89 off 88 balls against the Aussies.
A near-identical triumph followed for Rohit in the West Indies and the United States in 2024 when he led the Men in Blue to the T20 World Cup title. The Men in Blue remained unbeaten throughout the competition before meeting the Proteas in the final. He played a rapid innings of 257 runs at a strike rate of 156.71.
2. The Agony of Defeat: Disappointments at the World Cup Finals
More often than not, the legendary players have been through thick and thin before raising the trophy aloft in triumph.
Harmanpreet has tasted the agony of defeat in the T20 World Cup finals in 2018 and 2023 and also faced a crushing 85-run defeat at the hands of Australia in the 2020 final in Melbourne. She had also tasted the agony of narrow defeats in the 2024 and 2026 tournaments.
The same heart-wrenching feeling was experienced by Rohit Sharma as well when he led the Men in Blue to the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad. They faced a comprehensive defeat against Australia after having remained unbeaten in the tournament. Sharma fell cheaply after a breezy 47 in the final.
3. Going out on a High Note: Farewell Matches in Multi-Nation Contests
Great players tend to follow a pattern of retiring on the high note of victories in multi-nation events.
Harmanpreet bid farewell to her tenure as the captain of the Women in Blue at the Asian Games 2026 in Nisshin, Japan. She guided her team to consecutive victories over Japan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka en route to two gold medals.
Rohit also followed suit at the Champions Trophy 2025 in the UAE. He guided his men to a single loss in the entire campaign as they recorded emphatic wins over Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Australia in the semi-final before facing the Black Caps in the final in Dubai.
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As Harmanpreet bids farewell to the captaincy, she leaves behind a legacy that runs into the annals of Indian men's cricket.