The 37-year-old took charge of India’s T20I side in 2016 before becoming the full-time captain in Tests and ODIs in 2022 following Mithali Raj’s retirement from international cricket.
Kaur confirmed her decision in a lengthy statement on Instagram, while making it clear that she will continue her international career as a player.
"Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women's Cricket Team across all formats," Harmanpreet said.
"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.
"Now, I'm ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues," she added.
Kaur’s final assignment as captain saw India claim a second successive gold medal at the Asian Games, following their triumph in 2023 and another gold in 2026.
The defining achievement of her captaincy came last November, when she guided India to their maiden Women’s Cricket World Cup title on home soil after defeating South Africa in the final.
With that triumph, Kaur became only the third Indian captain after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to lift the 50-over World Cup trophy. She is also among just five Indian captains to have won a World Cup, alongside Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, who led India to T20 World Cup titles in 2024 and 2026 respectively.
During her captaincy, Kaur led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. She also guided the team to a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where her 65-run effort in the final was not enough to prevent Australia from winning gold.
Kaur also made history in the shortest format, becoming the first captain in international cricket—male or female—to lead a team in more than 150 T20I matches.
Her T20I captaincy also saw India reach the semi-finals of the 2018 and 2023 Women’s T20 World Cups, while finishing runners-up in the 2020 edition.
