New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the side winning the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup was not an overnight success, as it happened due to two years of sustained preparation and effort for winning the mega event.

India beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to win their first-ever ODI World Cup title. “After Amol (Muzumdar) sir joined as coach, we finally had proper planning. Before that, we struggled with frequent coaching changes. We actually planned everything two years ago – writing down each series, tournament schedules, training camps and fitness programs. BCCI supported us completely, telling us to take whatever we needed without pressure.”

“This trophy isn’t an overnight achievement but the result of two years of hard work by the entire team. Amol sir’s systematic approach, where we reviewed our progress every two months helped us move forward step by step, and that planning is why we’re holding the trophy today,” said Harmanpreet on JioStar.

She also credited the changes in the last two years of the Indian cricket ecosystem for their World Cup success. “Many positive changes have come, especially during this World Cup, and we must credit BCCI and Jay Shah for their outstanding support. Pay parity played a crucial role in changing the landscape.”

“The awareness campaigns motivated parents to encourage their daughters to play cricket, creating healthy competition and bringing more talent into the game. WPL transformed our dressing room mentality completely.”

“Compared to previous World Cups, the atmosphere and mindset were completely different this time, thanks to the solid backing from BCCI and our incredible fans,” she added.

In the run-up to the World Cup, the Indian team had various camps at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru and Harmanpreet was quick to laud the centre’s world-class facilities.

“The BCCI National Cricket Academy facilities in Bangalore are absolutely amazing. They have a great ground, excellent gym, and outstanding physios and trainers. We must give credit to the NCA because during our last three-four camps there, we got everything we needed.”

“Earlier, we had to compromise due to limited facilities, but this new center is so good that India won’t have to wait long for our next World Cup. The quality of facilities, coaches and staff we now have is something very special for Indian cricket.”

She signed off by expressing gratitude to fans for supporting the Indian team during the World Cup. “For everyone involved, this World Cup Final was a very special moment. There was a strong belief that this team could achieve something extraordinary, and everyone felt we had already won before even taking the field.”

“The incredible public response showed how much people wanted to be part of this movement – we received countless messages and calls from supporters, showing their support. During our practice sessions, we saw artificial stands being created in stadiums because ticket demand was so high.”

“This proved that women’s cricket has truly arrived in our country. The fact that stadiums needed extra seating just showed that this team had something special that nobody wanted to miss,” concluded Harmanpreet.

–IANS

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