India's star trio eye history at Cricket World Cup 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, 2025
Harmanpreet Kaur, who will be leading in her first Women's Cricket World Cup, is keen on breaking India's deadlock by winning their first senior ICC silverware.
'(The plan is the) same as my first ODI World Cup. I want to go there and enjoy my cricket, but playing in front of the home crowd is always special,' Kaur said at the '50 Days To Go' event in Mumbai.
Countdown to the World Cup - 50 days to go | CWC 2025
A special day as the countdown to the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 begins on 11 August.
'This time, I hope we will give our 100 per cent and try to break that final barrier that we have all been waiting for.'
Kaur believes India are heading into the tournament high on confidence following their recent successes, especially the series win in England.
'(The confidence is) very high. The kind of cricket we've played over the last couple of years, gives us a lot of confidence.
Smriti Mandhana | India's star opener | 100% Cricket
India opener Smriti Mandhana echoed Kaur's belief and opened up on the changing mindset within Indian cricket over the past few years.
'The mindset has changed over the last two or three years. There's a calmness with which I want to go about on the field," said Mandhana at the event.
'Our whole team is heading in that direction. We know where we want to work hard. And when we enter the field, we know we've just got to implement."
Mandhana added that the side was focusing on staying in the present and not looking to achieve specific landmarks.
'Whenever we've done well (on the field), everything else has taken care of itself. We are preparing really really well.
'We've had a preparation camp. We've had an England tour. We've one tour ahead of the World Cup. To be honest, that's the only thing we are thinking about.'
Middle-order batting lynchpin Jemimah Rodrigues stated that the advent of the Women's Premier League has also contributed to bolstering the confidence of newcomers in the team.
Rodrigues cited the instance of 22-year-old pacer Kranti Gaud, who finished as the leading wicket-taker in India's 2-1 ODI series win in England with nine scalps that included a six-wicket haul.
'What the WPL has done has given youngsters a platform to perform and get into the Indian team. There's not as much pressure as on international debut,' Jemimah said.
'In this team, we see that. We look at Kranti (Gaud), she's fearless. That attitude is so nice to see that it pushes each one of us.'
Former India captain Mithali Raj, who was also a part of the event and had led the side in the previous edition, believed that the team's recent string of results puts them in a strong position for the World Cup.
"The way the team has been doing over the last one year, not just in ODIs, but in T20Is. A wonderful series in England, beating England in England," she said.
"I can see with their confidence, and being there in the home world cup. I think nothing better."
Mithali Raj – legend, pioneer of women's cricket and an inspiration
India will be hoping to go one step further at this year's tournament than they did in 2017, when they made it to their second Women's Cricket World Cup Final, missing out narrowly to England in a thrilling finish at Lord's.
Casting their minds back to the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, the trio conceded that while it was disheartening to miss out on a maiden title, the tournament left a major footprint on Indian women's cricket.
Among the notable moments from the tournament was Harmanpreet Kaur's whirlwind knock of 171* against Australia in the semi-final.
Harmanpreet Kaur's fiery 171* | Women's World Cup Magic Moments
'That knock was something really special to me. Special to the entire women's cricket. After that knock, a lot of things changed for me and women's cricket," Kaur added.
'That time I didn't realise (its impact). But when we returned back to India, even though we lost the final, the amount of people that were waiting and cheering for us, it was really special.'
Mandhana, who featured in her first Women's Cricket World Cup in 2017, also had fond memories from the tournament, where she scored 232 runs, including a century against West Indies.
'We all remember that World Cup. Not just my century, we remember each other's innings as well,' she added.
'To witness that 171 (from Harmanpreet Kaur). Everyone came together in that World Cup.
'Not just the World Cup but what followed. The kind of welcome we got back from the fans. The way things changed after that World Cup.'
WT20WC: The two sides of Jemimah Rodrigues
Jemimah Rodrigues, who was a budding cricketer at the time, recalled going to the airport to receive and support the team, and recalled the fervour that surrounded the return.
'I remember all these people, they were tired and at the same time disappointed, because they were so close, and yet it felt so far," she said.
'And they walked out of the airport thinking nobody was going to be there. And I can tell you at 5:30 in the morning, the whole airport was packed with crowd.
'People right now would think that that's normal. But at that time, for women's sport, it wasn't. I remember this whole bunch of players coming in and going back, because they weren't expecting it.'
India will kickstart their Cricket World Cup 2025 campaign against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on 30 September.
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