Tournament begins September 30 with India vs Sri Lanka in Guwahati
Captains’ Day held in Bengaluru and Colombo with all eight skippers present
Record prize pool of USD 13.88 million underscores landmark edition
With the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 just four days away, captains of all eight participating teams came together at a unique dual-location press conference on Captains’ Day, held simultaneously in Bengaluru and Colombo. The tournament begins on 30 September, with India taking on Sri Lanka in Guwahati, while defending champions Australia face New Zealand the following day in Indore.
The Captains’ Day event gave fans and media a chance to hear directly from the leaders of the women’s game as they shared thoughts on the growth of cricket, home advantage, the level of competition, and team readiness ahead of the marquee tournament.
Harmanpreet Kaur: “A home World Cup is always special”
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur opened up about the honour and expectations of leading the host nation.
“Representing your country is always a special moment for any player. But leading your country in an ODI World Cup is even more special for me. Every team in this World Cup has an equal chance to win, which shows how much we have raised the standard of women's cricket. We’ve also started seeing packed stadiums, which is something we really enjoy because we’ve never seen that before. A home World Cup is always special, and there are a lot of expectations from us. We’re going to see a lot of fans in the stadium cheering for us, and I’m sure we’ll give our best.”
Alyssa Healy: “This is going to be the toughest World Cup we’ve ever been a part of”
Australia skipper Alyssa Healy acknowledged the challenge of defending a title and spoke highly of the competition.
“Defending a title is not easy. I think every team is here to win the World Cup. We know what we need to do to try and achieve that. You have to beat every single side in the world to lift that trophy, which is really exciting. We’re really looking forward to that challenge. I believe this is going to be the toughest World Cup we’ve ever been a part of. Australia has a rich history in this format and in World Cups, but I think every single team is going to be tough to beat.”
Nat Sciver-Brunt: “India brings a different energy to the game”
England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt spoke about India’s unmatched fan culture and the balance within her team.
“The number of people who come to games in India, support cricket and truly love watching it brings a different energy, another level to the game that we hadn’t experienced before. So, I think the matches here in India are going to be greatly watched, and that’s really exciting as a player. We’ve got some highly skilled and talented young players who haven’t experienced a World Cup before. Sometimes, when you haven’t experienced it, you don’t know what to expect, so those expectations from before aren't there. So, I think the youth in our side can balance well with the experience. I believe the quality of cricket in this tournament is going to be really exciting.”
Other Captains Confident and Focused on Opportunity
Captains from the other five teams echoed similar themes of readiness, opportunity and belief as the world’s top teams converge for the most competitive edition yet.
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine highlighted the growth of the game and her team’s belief:
“It's certainly a nice feeling to have that confidence and the belief that we can win world events... We're here to win this trophy, and you've got to beat everyone in this competition. We've got to be at our best.”
Pakistan’s Fatima Sana pointed out the advantage of playing all matches in Colombo:
“We know we will be playing all our matches at the same venue and under the same conditions. This familiarity will work in our favor.”
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana reflected on her team’s growth:
“We have played a lot of cricket both at home and abroad, and now we know how to win matches in tournament settings... We believe it is time to give back to our supporters through our performances.”
South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt underlined the unpredictability of the competition:
“In a tournament like this, every team is a big team... Our strategy will really just be to take it one game at a time.”
And Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu hoped for home support and freedom to play their natural game:
“We want to enjoy the moment, taking it one game at a time. We do not want to put too much pressure on ourselves but rather play our natural game freely.”
About the Tournament
The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 is set to be played from 30 September to 2 November across five venues in India and Sri Lanka – Guwahati, Indore, Navi Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Colombo.
This is the first women’s ICC global event in the sub-continent since 2016, when India co-hosted the T20 World Cup. It is also the first 50-over Women’s World Cup held in the region since 2013.
The tournament features eight teams playing in a round-robin format, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.
This edition sets a new benchmark with a record prize pool of 13.88 million USD, surpassing even the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The winner will take home 4.48 million USD.
Another historic milestone is the appointment of an all-female panel of match officials, continuing a trend in ICC women’s global events since 2023.
Opening Match:
India vs Sri Lanka, Guwahati, 30 September
Defending Champions:
Australia begin their campaign against New Zealand, 1 October, Indore
In India, ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 matches will be live streamed on JioStar and the JioHotstar app.
