On November 3, 2025, India won the ODI World Cup for the first time by defeating South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur led the team to history.
Harmanpreet Kaur, 36, has now led India to a World Cup victory, just like Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni.
The dream of 2017 came true in 2025
Former head coach Tushar Arothe, in an exclusive interview with the Times of India, said that the 2017 World Cup was like a green revolution for Indian women’s cricket.
“We came very close to winning the title in 2017. That World Cup was like a green revolution for women’s cricket in India,”
he said. After that, girls were drawn to cricket, and parents became convinced that their daughters could also pursue a career in the sport.
The BCCI also made significant progress – equalizing match fees and introducing Under-15 and Under-19 tournaments.
Arothe said, “The BCCI has taken great steps since then—from matching the women’s match fees with the men’s, to starting under-15 and under-19 one-day and T20 tournaments. These initiatives have given a huge push to women’s cricket in India.”
In 2017, they lost the final in England, that too by just 9 runs. It was heartbreaking at Lord’s, but today that pain turned into joy. Only three players from that team—Harman, Smriti Mandhana, and Deepti Sharma—were in the 2025 final.
Arothe praised Harman, “Harman has always been a promising cricketer. I still recall my old days—in 2009, when Harman came into the Indian women’s team for the first time, we went to Australia for the World Cup. She had a pretty good series.”
And everyone remembers her explosive batting against Australia in the semi-finals!
More trophies expected under Harman’s captaincy
The question now is whether Harman should step down as captain or not? Some are suggesting giving Smriti Mandhana a chance, but Arothe believes Harman still has the potential.
“Why not? As long as she continues this form and performance, Harmanpreet can certainly lead India to a couple more ICC titles in the future,” he said.
Like Rohit Sharma, she can win two or three more trophies. Arothe praised the team,
“I’m very happy that the Indian women played absolutely brilliant cricket throughout the tournament. I would like to congratulate the entire team, the support staff, and, of course, the BCCI for winning the ICC World Cup trophy.”
Jemimah Rodrigues’ 127* not out in the semi-final, chasing Australia’s target of 338, was remarkable. Harman’s 89 also turned the match around.
Arothe said, “Australia are obviously a tough team to beat… But we can’t forget Jemimah’s knock—it was a fantastic, brilliant innings. Chasing 300 runs is a record, isn’t it?”
Deepti Sharma remained the all-round star—excellent in bowling, batting, and fielding.
“Deepti (Sharma) was outstanding in all departments. She has been a brilliant cricketer all these years,” Arothe said.
After defeating South Africa in the final and lifting the trophy, she took a selfie with her family at the stadium.
This victory will take women’s cricket to new heights. The BCCI increased the prize money by 297% and also gifted diamond jewellery and solar panels.
Richa Ghosh played despite a broken finger and became the Storm of Siliguri. Smriti Mandhana lost the top ranking, but Laura Wolvaardt remained number one.
