India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur etched her name into the record books on Friday by becoming the most successful captain in women’s T20 internationals, overtaking former Australia leader Meg Lanning. The 36-year-old, however, played down the personal milestone, stressing that the achievement was only possible because of her teammates' collective efforts.
Harmanpreet reached the landmark following India’s dominant eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third T20I of the five-match series at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. With this victory, she now has 77 wins from 130 matches as captain in the format, moving past Lanning’s tally of 76 wins from 100 games at the helm of Australia.
“That is something I never thought would happen. As a captain, you always aim to win World Cups or win series, but becoming the most successful T20 captain- that is something which I never thought, but I’m very grateful, and I would like to give all credit to my team.
They’ve been outstanding. It’s because of them that we keep winning. It’s just a beginning for all of us. I know the next big thing is coming up (T20 World Cup), and hopefully, we’ll continue the same winning momentum and keep winning for Team India," Harmanpreet Kaur said in a video released by BCCI.
The record adds another highlight to a standout year for the Indian captain. Earlier this year, in November, she led India to their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title, guiding the team to a memorable 52-run triumph over South Africa in the final at the Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Reflecting on the latest win against Sri Lanka, Harmanpreet expressed satisfaction with the team’s all-round performance, noting that the confidence gained from such displays would be valuable as the Indian side builds toward the Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled for June 2026.
“It was a great series for all of us. That's what we discussed when we got together after the World Cup: we have to raise our standard. Be a little more aggressive in T20, we all know the T20 World Cup is coming up, this is the right time to push ourselves, so really happy with the overall performance,” said Harmanpreet.
“If you keep ticking all the boxes in your bowling department, you have more chances to win the game. Today, we are in this position because of our bowlers. Credit goes to all our bowling lineup, the way they bowled in this series,” she added. India and Sri Lanka will next face off on Sunday for the fourth T20I at the same venue in Trivandrum.