Bengaluru: All team skippers at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 shared their excitement and confidence during a special captains’ day event held simultaneously in Bengaluru and Colombo, just four days before the tournament begins.
A unique setup brought all of them together on a single forum despite being in different countries. Alyssa Healy (Australia), Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), and Harmanpreet Kaur (India) participated in Bengaluru. At the same time, Nigar Sultana (Bangladesh), Fatima Sana (Pakistan), Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa), and Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka) participated in the event in Colombo.
Fans gained insight into the thoughts of top players as they shared their views on the World Cup and the development of women’s football during panel discussions in Bengaluru and Colombo, held in conjunction with the highly anticipated tournament.
After the panel discussions, press conferences were held at both venues, where the captains answered various questions from the media present.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, “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.”
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu said, “We are playing on our home soil, and I know many Sri Lankans will be there to support us. We need that energy and encouragement, just like we experienced during the Asia Cup, where there were many spectators. I hope to see the same vibrant atmosphere in the stadiums during our World Cup matches. 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. That is our intention.”
Alyssa Healy, a two-time World Cup winner and captain of defending champions Australia, said, “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.”
England’s newly-appointed skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt said, “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 on our side can balance well with the experience. I believe the quality of cricket in this tournament is going to be really exciting.”
New Zealand’s skipper Sophie Devine said, “It’s certainly a nice feeling to have that confidence and the belief that we can win world events. I think for us, that’s really important to know. It’s a different format. Everyone starts back at zero. So, for us again, like both Alyssa [Healy] and Nat [Sciver-Brunt] said, 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. I think it’s the opportunities that are provided [for women’s cricket]; it’s been pretty crazy to think at the start of my career. I think the next step is to make sure that it is a truly global game and that all boards across the world are provided with equal opportunity to be able to play more cricket.”
Pakistan’s young captain, Fatima Sana, said, “We have a significant advantage playing here [in Colombo] and executing our skills because we know we will be playing all our matches at the same venue and under the same conditions. This familiarity will work in our favour. Yes, definitely, our main goal is to finish in the top four. I believe the conditions in Sri Lanka are similar to those in Pakistan, so we are familiar with the exact conditions.”
Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana said, “This is our second ODI World Cup, and earlier we were inexperienced and unfamiliar with winning on a big stage. However, since then, we have played a lot of cricket both at home and abroad, and now we know how to win matches in tournament settings. We are eagerly looking forward to this World Cup. This is a great opportunity for all of us. We are aware of our responsibility to promote cricket back home, where interest in women’s cricket is growing. We believe it is time to give back to our supporters through our performances.”
Lastly, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt said, “I think in a tournament like this, every team is a big team. I think there’s no sort of single team or two that are set up to win it. In these conditions, it really brings a lot of the subcontinent teams into the game, so I think our strategy for the tournament will really just be to take it one game at a time and not think about big names.”
India will face Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament in Guwahati September 30. Australia will begin their title defence the next day against New Zealand in Indore. The round-robin tournament will also take place in Visakhapatnam, Navi Mumbai, and Colombo.
IANS
