Harmanpreet Kaur says India ready to give best in World Cup

Captains of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 expressed confidence at a special Captains’ Day event in Bengaluru and Colombo. Harmanpreet Kaur said India will give their best in the home World Cup, starting on 30 September in Guwahati

Hyderabad: Captains of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 spoke at a special Captains’ Day event held simultaneously in Bengaluru and Colombo, expressing their eagerness and confidence with just four days left for the tournament to start.

India play Sri Lanka in the opening match in Guwahati on 30 September, while Australia begin their title defence a day later against New Zealand in Indore. Visakhapatnam, Navi Mumbai and Colombo are the other cities where the round-robin tournament will be played.

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A unique format brought the captains together on one forum even though they were in different countries. Alyssa Healy (Australia), Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), and Harmanpreet Kaur (India) attended the event in Bengaluru, while Nigar Sultana (Bangladesh), Fatima Sana (Pakistan), Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa), and Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka) were part of the event in Colombo.

Harmanpreet Kaur: 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 have also started seeing packed stadiums, which is something we really enjoy because we have not seen that before. A home World Cup is always special, and there are a lot of expectations from us. We are going to see a lot of fans in the stadium cheering for us, and I am sure we will give our best.

Chamari Athapaththu: 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.

Alyssa Healy: 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 achieve that. You have to beat every single side in the world to lift that trophy, which is really exciting. We are looking forward to that challenge. I believe this is going to be the toughest World Cup we have ever been a part of. Australia has a rich history in this format and in World Cups, but I think every team is going to be tough to beat.

Nat Sciver-Brunt: 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 had not experienced before. So, I think the matches here in India are going to be greatly watched, and that is really exciting as a player.

Sophie Devine: It is certainly a nice feeling to have the confidence and the belief that we can win world events. For us, that is really important to know. It is a different format. Everyone starts back on zero. Like Alyssa and Nat said, we are here to win this trophy, and you have to beat everyone in this competition. We have to be at our best. I think it is the opportunities that are being provided for women’s cricket.

Fatima Sana: We have a big 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. 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 them.

Nigar Sultana: This is our second ODI World Cup. Earlier we were inexperienced and not used to winning on a big stage. Since then, we have played a lot of cricket both at home and abroad, and now we know how to win matches in tournaments.

Laura Wolvaardt: I think in a tournament like this, every team is a big team. There is no 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. Our strategy for the tournament will be to take it one game at a time and not think about big names.