A blockbuster tournament of the year, the 13th edition of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 to be held in India and Sri Lanka from 30th September 2025 to 2nd November 2025 that becomes one of the most awaited in a year.
Cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar, saw this World Cup as a watershed moment for women’s cricket, much in the way the event changed the course of the sport in India after India men won in 1983.
In the eve of the tournament, the ICC Hall-of Famer brought a lush yet powerful parallel to the revered past of Indian cricket when he said, “That win told an entire generation of young Indians that dreams need not be constrained by boundaries,” in reference to Kapil Dev’s heroic 175* that defeated Zimbabwe, so etched in the annals of cricket. For Tendulkar, the Women’s World Cup resonates way beyond the mere search of a trophy: “It is about igniting countless dreams.”
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To Tendulkar, the roles of India’s top two batters played a part in pushing women’s cricket beyond the confines of mainstream consciousness. He hailed: “It was not just an innings; it was a statement.” Her sheer audacity and courage brought women’s cricket to the limelight.
Mandhana, too, enters this tournament riding a wave of sensational form. Having just completed the record-breaking fastest-ever half-century by an Indian in women’s ODIs–fitawfully termed the second-fastest in all–in her career-best innings of 50 off 50 balls against Australia in the recently concluded ODI series, she mustered 300 runs in three matches and was awarded Player of the Series, Tendulkar took note of her “silken grace” and “natural rhythm,” and felt her strokeplay is now an expression of confident, modern India.
India will definitely bank on their captain, Harmanpreet, for the first time under whose leadership India will be contesting an ODI World Cup, and Mandhana, her capable second, to feature prominently in their effort to clinch the ICC Women’s World Cup at a senior level for the very first time. While India has come agonizingly close before, finishing runner-up in 2005 and 2017, the stage is set for another legendary clash.
In the above passage, Tendulkar has shown himself to be a man with a greater vision for the tournament and an advocate for the ICC’s historic decision to introduce record prize money for the 2025 edition of the tournament. According to him, the introduction of such prize money sends a powerful message that women’s cricket is not just worthy of applause but worthy, indeed, of an equal respect. Such care helps bring about structural changes and challenge a perception worthy of the women’s game in the same level as men’s.
The Indian maestro sees the players bearing more than sporting pressure: “They will not just be representing India in a sporting contest. They will be carrying with them the hopes of millions, the possibility of inspiring a generation, and the power to redefine what is achievable.” The magnitude of expectation is huge, however, the opportunity is enormous as well: to develop a step further into history.
After sixteen years on tour in the western hemisphere, the schedule will return to Indian soil by the fourth time after 1978, 1997, and 2013, and with anticipation running high, eight teams will vie for global supremacy. Sri Lanka’s team, led by a well-experienced Chamari Athapaththu, will test India on September 30 from 3 PM IST at the unmatched Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. For Harmanpreet, this will be her fifth World Cup but her first as a captain, marking the beginning of India’s contest with utmost importance.
Tendulkar hopes this World Cup will do for women’s cricket what the 1983 World Cup nearly did for Indian cricket almost 40 years ago. From Mandhana’s elegant drives to Harmanpreet’s aggressive hitting, Indian women cricketers now have the chance to build that fresh legacy.
Tendulkar expressed: “Just as 1983 gave Indian cricket a new identity, I believe this World Cup can do the same for women’s cricket in India.”
