Mumbai, Aug 11 (IANS) International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Sanjog Gupta said the growth of women’s cricket is a reflection of the country’s progress in many varied ways. Gupta’s comments came on the day ICC marked the 50 days countdown of Women’s ODI World Cup, starting on September 30.

“There is a larger picture here, which has to do with what this means for the country. The growth of women’s cricket, in many ways, is a reflection of the country’s progress. In every sense, the growth of women’s cricket over the last eight years has brought us to this moment where it is time for the game to take its next leap.”

“This World Cup can be the springboard for that next leap. World Cups are more than just events; they are apertures for building trans-generational legacies and fostering new cultures,” said Gupta on the sidelines of the ’50 days to go’ event on Monday.

India has reached the Women’s ODI World Cup final twice in 2005 and 2017, but the coveted title eluded them on both occasions. Monday’s event also had former India captain Mithali Raj, former India men’s all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, ICC chairman Jay Shah and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, along with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and batter Jemimah Rodrigues in attendance.

The 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup will run from September 30 to November 2, with matches spread across Visakhapatnam, Indore, Guwahati and Bengaluru in India, while Colombo in Sri Lanka being the fifth venue. Bengaluru hosting matches remains subject to it getting necessary permissions from various authorities, especially after Maharaja Trophy T20 games were moved to Mysuru.

The tournament will be contested in a round-robin format among eight teams – defending champions Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. This will also be the first women’s global cricket event in the sub-continent since India hosted the 2016 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. India has also staged the Women’s ODI World Cup in 1978, 1997 and 2013 respectively.

–IANS

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