Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down as India captain across all formats on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, with Smriti Mandhana named as her replacement. The 37-year-old had led the country since 2016, overseeing India's first Women's Cricket World Cup triumph in 2025 and two Asian Games gold medals, including the most recent in Nagoya. Despite relinquishing the captaincy, Kaur remained in India's T20I and ODI squads for the ongoing Zimbabwe series.
Kaur walked to the crease at number four in the eighth over of India's innings during the third T20I in Raipur. She had gone eight innings without a half-century before this match, but her aggressive intent emerged quickly when she faced Kudzai Chigora's bowling.
"I don't think there is any pressure anymore. I think now it's all about enjoying myself on the field and I think that's what I want to do," Kaur said at the post-match presentation as quoted by Cricinfo.
How Harmanpreet found form after captaincy exit?
Early in her stay, she struck a boundary off Loryn Phiri's bowling to get off the mark. However, her momentum truly built when she faced Chigora's over, from which she extracted 20 runs through two boundaries and two sixes. The aggressive approach continued throughout her innings as she reached 91 off 41 balls.
"I think the first [second] ball when I hit for a four, that time I realised it's a good pitch and bat was coming nicely to the ball. I think I got a lot of confidence from that shot, and then I just thought let me just keep going and let's see how it goes. I think bat swing is something you know which is my key, and I just want to keep repeating that in the nets, and I think again I just want to give credit to my batting coach Himanshu bhaiya who has been working really hard and understood the kind of batting I can do," said Kaur.
"Every time when we meet, when we spend time in the nets, he just wants me to keep feeling that same pressure in the nets so that when I am playing the match, I should not feel any extra pressure. I think his tactics and his thoughts work really well. I definitely enjoy myself in the middle and this is what I'm here for. I just want to enjoy my batting, and good that those runs came," she added.
