Blood, sweat, sacrifice, I gave it all: Kaur on her India captaincy tenure

Harmanpreet Kaur. Pic/PTI

India's only World Cup-winning women's cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Tuesday stepped down from her position in all three formats, saying that she has done her duty as leader and is now "ready to play for the love of the game again."

The 37-year-old's announcement came after a BCCI review meeting in Guwahati. Chaired by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, the meeting was attended by Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar.

"Today, I step down as captain of the Indian Women's Cricket Team across all formats," Harmanpreet, who has been enduring a lean patch for a while now, wrote in an Instagram post. "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," added the right-hander, who had earlier spoken about wanting to lead the team till at least the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics for which India have already qualified.

A BCCI source said that the veteran wanted to continue leading the ODI and Test sides but the Board conveyed to her that it was looking for a change of guard across formats.

Harmanpreet led the Indian T20 side for a decade, taking over as skipper in 2016. She was elevated to ODI captaincy in 2022 before becoming the all-format leader in 2023. "Now, it's time for me to turn the page. Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will. Blood. Sweat. Sacrifice. Pride. I gave it all. Now, I'm ready to play for the love of the game again. Captaincy ends. The journey continues," she said.

Meanwhile, Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma were named vice-captains for India's T20I and ODI squads respectively on Tuesday, with both set to serve as deputies to newly-appointed captain Smriti Mandhana for the home series against Zimbabwe at home.

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