Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar (born 8 March 1989) is an Indian cricketer, a hard-hitting middle-order batter and the captain who led India to its first Women’s World Cup title, in 2025. Her innings of 171 not out against Australia in the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup is regarded as one of the greatest played in the women’s game, and changed the way Indian women’s cricket was seen at home. She stepped down from the captaincy in October 2026.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar |
| Born | 8 March 1989, Moga, Punjab |
| Age | 37 |
| Sport | Cricket |
| Role | Right-handed batter; occasional off-spin bowler |
| International debut | 2009 |
| Captaincy | Twenty20 internationals from 2016; all formats 2022–2026 |
| Major titles | Women’s World Cup (2025); Asian Games gold (2022) |
| Franchise | Mumbai Indians (Women’s Premier League) |
| Awards | Arjuna Award (2017) |
Early Life
She was born in Moga, a town in the Punjab, on International Women’s Day. Her father, Harmandar Singh Bhullar, a clerk in the district court, had been a volleyball and basketball player, and bowled to her on the ground opposite their house. There was no girls’ team; she played with the boys.
A local coach, Kamaldeesh Singh Sodhi, saw her hitting the ball and admitted her without fees to the academy at his family’s school, about thirty kilometres away. He told the boys who bowled to her not to hold back.
Career
Early years
She made her one-day international debut in March 2009, at the World Cup in Australia, and her Twenty20 debut three months later. Her first international century came against England in 2013. In 2016 she became the first Indian, man or woman, to sign for a team in Australia’s Big Bash League, and later played in England’s league.
171 not out
On 20 July 2017, in the World Cup semi-final at Derby, against the defending champions Australia in a match reduced to 42 overs, she came in with India two wickets down. She made 171 not out from 115 balls, with twenty fours and seven sixes; the second hundred runs came off about forty balls. India won by 36 runs and reached the final at Lord’s, which it lost narrowly to England. The innings was watched by millions at home and is credited with creating a public for the women’s game in India.
Captain
She took over the Twenty20 side in 2016. In 2018, at the T20 World Cup, she scored 103 against New Zealand, the first century by an Indian woman in the format. Under her India reached the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup at Melbourne, before a crowd of more than eighty-six thousand, and won silver at the Commonwealth Games of 2022.
She became captain in all formats in 2022, on the retirement of Mithali Raj. India won the gold medal at the Asian Games held in 2023, and a one-day series in England.
The World Cup
At the World Cup of 2025, played in India, her team lost three matches in a row in the group stage and came close to elimination. It then beat Australia in the semi-final in a record chase and, on 2 November 2025 at Navi Mumbai, beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final. She took the last catch. It was India’s first world title in women’s cricket.
Stepping down
In October 2026 she gave up the captaincy in all three formats.
Women’s Premier League
She has captained Mumbai Indians since the league began in 2023 and led the team to the title in its first season and again in 2025.
Controversy
In July 2023, in a one-day match at Dhaka, she struck the stumps with her bat on being given out and criticised the umpiring at the presentation. She was suspended for two matches.
Style
She stands tall at the crease and hits straight and over mid-wicket with great power. Her model, she has said, was Virender Sehwag. She is an outstanding fielder.
Personal Life
She holds the rank of deputy superintendent in the Punjab police.
Her long-time deputy, and the leading batter of her side, is Smriti Mandhana.
Featured image: Harmanpreet Kaur with the Women’s World Cup trophy, November 2025. Photo by the Prime Minister’s Office, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
