Senior batter Harmanpreet Kaur resigned as India’s captain from all three international formats on Tuesday after recently leading the team to their second successive Asian Games gold medal.
Kaur, 37, captained India to their first women’s global title at last year’s ODI World Cup and has been synonymous with the team’s success in recent years.
“This is not an easy decision,” Kaur said in a social media post.
“It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices, and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” she said.
“I have given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket — my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions.”
However, Kaur indicated she would continue to play.
“Captaincy ends. The journey continues,” she said.
Kaur’s role as leader was first questioned after India’s second successive group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup in June.
Her leadership also came up for discussion at a review meeting held by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday, local media reports said.
Kaur led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is.
Star batter Smriti Mandhana, who played a key part in the Asian Games victory, including hitting a stellar 45-ball 79 in the final against Sri Lanka, is a frontrunner to lead India.
