India captain Harmanpreet Kaur emphasized that the team’s victory in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup was the culmination of two years of dedicated preparation rather than an overnight success.
NEW DELHI – India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has stated that the team’s triumph in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup was not an overnight success, but rather the result of two years of sustained preparation.
India secured their first-ever ODI World Cup title by defeating South Africa by 52 runs in the final held at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Reflecting on the journey, Harmanpreet noted, “After Amol (Muzumdar) sir joined as coach, we finally had proper planning. Before that, we struggled with frequent coaching changes.”
She added, “We actually planned everything two years ago—writing down each series, tournament schedules, training camps, and fitness programs. The BCCI supported us completely, telling us to take whatever we needed without pressure.”
In addition to the coaching changes, Harmanpreet credited the evolution of the Indian cricket ecosystem over the past two years for their World Cup success, including advancements in pay equity.
“The awareness campaigns motivated parents to encourage their daughters to play cricket, creating healthy competition and bringing more talent into the game. The Women’s Premier League (WPL) transformed our dressing room mentality completely,” she remarked.
As the team prepared for the World Cup, they conducted various training camps at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. Harmanpreet praised the center’s world-class facilities, stating, “Earlier, we had to compromise due to limited facilities, but this new center is so good that India won’t have to wait long for our next World Cup. The quality of facilities, coaches, and staff we now have is something very special for Indian cricket.”
Expressing gratitude towards the fans, Harmanpreet acknowledged their unwavering support throughout the World Cup. “The incredible public response showed how much people wanted to be part of this movement. We received countless messages and calls from supporters, showing their support. During our practice sessions, we saw artificial stands being created in stadiums because ticket demand was so high,” she said.
She concluded, “This proved that women’s cricket has truly arrived in our country. The fact that stadiums needed extra seating just showed that this team had something special that nobody wanted to miss.”
Source: Original article