Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur achieved a historic feat on Sunday, when she walked out at Old Trafford, Manchester, to lead her side against South Africa. She became the first cricketer across both women’s and men’s international cricket to feature in 200 T20ls.
The BCCI shared a heartwarming message on social media for the Indian skipper. “Respect. Love. And a whole lot of memories,” the Indian cricket board wrote. Harmanpreet also received a special ‘200’ jersey & cap signed by the entire squad.
Respect. Love. And a whole lot of memories 💙
📸 Smriti Mandhana and Head Coach Amol Muzumdar present Harmanpreet Kaur with a special ‘200’ jersey & cap signed by the entire squad ✨#TeamIndia | #T20WorldCup | #WomenInBlue | #SAvIND | @ImHarmanpreet
| @mandhana_smriti pic.twitter.com/hiekMdoCok
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 21, 2026
Harmanpreet made her international debut in March 2009 against Pakistan in the ODI format and played her first T20I later that year, in June, against England at Taunton.
To mark the historic milestone, Harmanpreet was presented with a special jersey and a cap bearing the number ‘200’ by India head coach Amol Muzumdar and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana during the team huddle before the start of the match.
“Honestly, it’s been an amazing journey. I never thought I’d come this far, but God has been kind to me. I’m really thankful to Him, and to my family, friends, the BCCI and all my teammates. They’ve been really supportive,” Harmanpreet said at the toss.
“I think I’m more nervous playing my 200th game, and she is someone who looks very calm. Hopefully, she’ll enjoy the game,” she added, after handing the debut cap to Prema Rawat.
Harmanpreet now tops an illustrious list of women cricketers with the most T20I appearances, ahead of New Zealand’s Suzie Bates (184 matches), England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge (183), Australia’s Ellyse Perry (177), and Mandhana (169).
Among men’s players, Ireland’s Paul Stirling leads the chart with 163 matches, followed by former India captain Rohit Sharma (159), Ireland’s George Dockrell (157), England’s Jos Buttler (155), and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi (152).
(With PTI Inputs)
