Harmanpreet Kaur

No one in India has moved the needle for women's cricket as far as Harmanpreet Kaur did when she made an epochal, unbeaten 171 to beat defending champions Australia in the 2017 ODI World Cup semi-final. Armed with a ferocious slog sweep and gifted hitting-ability, Harmanpreet has modeled her aggressive style of play on that of her idol Virender Sehwag.

She represents the new-age India women's cricketer, part of a generation that has been at the center of ad campaigns, endorsements, central contracts and pay-parity with the men. Her stocks rose overseas as well. She became the first India cricketer - male or female - to sign a Big Bash League contract with Sydney Thunder in Australia. The deal came about on the back of an impressive showing during India's tour of Australia in January 2016, where she made a 31-ball 46 to script India's highest-ever T20 chase. In June 2017, she became the first Indian to sign with Surrey Stars in ECB's Kia Super League.

Harmanpreet broke through in 2009, but it wasn't until 2013 that she stamped her class. Her century against England at the Women's World Cup at home, albeit in a losing cause, earned plaudits from opposition captain Charlotte Edwards. Her career graph has skyrocketed since. In April 2013, she was handed the captaincy of the Indian ODI team when Mithali Raj was rested for the limited-overs series against Bangladesh. She got the job full-time across formats in 2016 in the wake of a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign where India crashed out of the group stages.

The high point of her India captaincy came in 2020 when she led the side to the final of the T20 World Cup against Australia in front of a record 86,174 fans at MCG. Three years on, she ushered in a new era in Indian women's cricket by leading Mumbai Indians to the inaugural WPL crown.