Anjum Chopra Says Harmanpreet Kaur’s Biggest Legacy Will Be Winning the World Cup

Anjum Chopra has picked India’s first ODI World Cup victory in 2025 as the pinnacle of Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy. The former India player focused on Harmanpreet Kaur leadership path and the development of the women’s squad that she led. Harmanpreet stepped down as captain of all three forms this week, and Smriti Mandhana was named her successor.

Anjum, who has known Harmanpreet Kaur since a training camp in 2008, expressed her opinion in an exclusive interview on Friday. She emphasised how Harmanpreet Kaur individual achievement and the team’s collective effort influenced India’s journey to the World Cup triumph. India won the 2025 tournament after defeating South Africa by 52 runs in the final, which was held at Navi Mumbai.

The development of Harmanpreet Kaur as a player and captain

Harmanpreet captained India in 5 Tests, 51 ODIs, and 155 T20Is throughout her reign. Her tenure as captain began in 2012 with a T20I against Pakistan at the Asia Cup in Guangzhou, advanced to regular T20I captaincy in 2016, and will include the ODI team in 2022 after Mithali Raj retires. In 2023, she acquired control of all formats.

Anjum discussed how Harmanpreet’s leadership and charisma influenced the Indian team’s strategy and confidence. She stated that Harmanpreet had established herself as the team’s primary figure, overseeing its growth over time. However, Chopra believed India’s consecutive T20 World Cup losses demonstrated the team’s failure to adjust their batting strategy between formats.

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Anjum argued that India’s failure to repeat their high-scoring strategy from the Women’s Premier League in international T20 cricket was down to deficiencies in preparation, confidence, or execution rather than captaincy. She stated that changing captains would not ensure ICC titles, emphasising the need of players developing and executing the proper approach in batting, bowling, and wicketkeeping.

Yash Patel

Yash Patel is a dedicated cricket enthusiast and writer specializing in player biographies, cricket records, match analysis, and the latest developments from the world of cricket.