With the Women's ODI World Cup 2025 50 days away from now, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has set her sights on the trophy as she wants the team to end the long wait for an ICC title. India have come close in several senior women's ICC events but have never won a global title. Now playing at home, the Women in Blue will look to end the trophy drought and win the 50-over World Cup for the country.
"We want to break that barrier which all Indians are waiting for. World Cups are always special, always want to do something special for my country. Whenever I see Yuvi bhaiya (Yuvraj Singh), it gives me a lot of motivation," Harmanpreet said at the '50 days to go' event in Mumbai.
India to play preparatory series against Australia
The ODI World Cup will kick off on September 30 with India taking on Sri Lanka in the opener. Ahead of the tournament, the Women in Blue will fine-tune their final preparations with a three-match series against Australia at home, starting September 14. Kaur reflected on the Aussie challenge standing ahead.
"Playing against Australia is always challenging, and we get to know what our standing is. The series (three ODIs vs Australia) will give us a lot of confidence. We have been putting a lot of effort into our training camps, and the results are showing," said Harmanpreet.
Harmanpreet will be playing in her fifth ODI World Cup and will be leading in the tournament for the first time. She has scored three centuries in the World Cups but her 171* off 115 balls against Australia in the 2017 semifinal was a knock for the ages.
"That knock was something really special to me and the entire women’s cricket. A lot of things changed for me after that knock. When we came back to India, even though we had lost, a lot of people were waiting and cheering for us. I still get goosebumps," she added.
Yuvraj Singh shares advice for Indian women's team
Meanwhile, the Player of the tournament in India's 2011 World Cup win, Yuvraj Singh, has shared some suggestions for the women's team going into the tournament. "(I would say) play the situation and not the expectation and be in the moment," he said.
"It’s a great opportunity to create history. But that doesn’t mean that from the starting point, you are thinking of winning it. You have to experience the whole enigma of it. You have to feel that you have put in the process, and results will come.
"But if you want to win the World Cup, you will be under pressure, things won’t go well, and that’s when experience and self-belief has to take over. You have to believe that you want to win the game for your country (on) that day," added Yuvraj.
