Women's ODI World Cup 2025: 5 Reasons Why Team India Can End Title Drought

As hosts of the Women's ODI World Cup 2025, Team India enters the marquee event with a balanced squad, good match practice, home advantage, and recent momentum, giving them a strong chance to challenge for the title.

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India to quest for glory in the Women's ODI World Cup 2025

Team India will begin their quest for their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup when they begin their campaign in the tournament opener against Sri Lanka at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on September 30. India is hosting the prestigious event for the first time since 2013, while Sri Lanka will host Pakistan matches.

The Women in Blue have recently played the ODI series against the defending champions, Australia, and headed to Visakhapatnam for a week-long conditioning camp ahead of the marquee event.

As Team India prepares for the prestigious Women’s ODI World Cup, let’s take a look at five reasons why the Harmanpree Kaur-led side can end their quest for a maiden title.

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1. Balanced and Versatile Squad

The BCCI senior women’s team selection committee picked a balanced India squad with a mix of experienced internationals and promising young talents, ensuring depth in batting and bowling to adapt to varied match situations. The likes of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma have past experience of playing in the ODI World Cups, while Arundhati Reddy, Pratika Rawal, Amanjot Kaur, Kranti Goud, and Radha Yadav bring youthful energy and specialised skills.

The mix of seasoned players and youth in the 15-member squad provides India with a perfect blend of stability and dynamism, boosting their chances of handling pressure in crucial situations and the quest to clinch the glory in the Women’s ODI World Cup.

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2. Enough Gametime Under the Belt

Ahead of the prestigious women’s tournament, Team India players have gotten under their belt as part of the preparations for the World Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women in Blue played four ODI series, including a tri-series, this year, giving the squad valuable match practice, exposure to varied conditions, and the opportunity to fine–tune combinations ahead of the ODI World Cup. India won the ODI series against Ireland and England and the Tri-Series by defeating Sri Lanka, but lost to Australia recently.

Team India has played 14 ODI matches in the lead-up to the Women’s World Cup, ensuring that players are ready while gaining confidence and peaking at the right time for the marquee tournament. The Women in Blue seemed to have gotten enough gametime before the marquee event. Before the main tournament, India will play two warm-up matches against England and New Zealand.

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3. Emerging Young Talents

One of the key reasons why India can end their World Cup title drought is the emergence of young talents in the squad. The likes of Pratika Rawal, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur, and Shree Charani bring fresh energy, fearless cricket, and match-winning potential, adding a new dimension to India’s campaign. Pratika boasts a batting average of 50.12, while Goud picked 14 wickets in the last six ODI matches.

These rising stars are not backup options but genuine match–winners, who Team India can rely on in crucial and pressure situations, and have the ability to turn the games single-handedly and give the Women in Blue the X-factor to end their long World Cup title drought.

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4. Home Advantage with Familiar Conditions

India are not playing the Women’s ODI World Cup abroad but on their home soil, which many of the players in the 15-member know inside out, giving them the comfort of familiar pitches, weather conditions, and roaring home support. India have gotten the opportunity to play the prestigious event on home soil after 12 years, with the last time being the 2013 edition, and this familiarity combined with passionate crowd support could provide extra push to cross the final hurdle.

India’s best result in the Women’s ODI World Cup on home soil was reaching the 1997 semifinal, where they lost to eventual champions Australia by 19 runs. India will be hoping to surpass past performances and capitalize on the home advantage to finally clinch their maiden Women’s World Cup title.

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5. Momentum from the Recent ODI series against Australia

Team India gained the significant momentum required for the Women’s ODI World Cup from the recently concluded series against the defending champions, Australia. Though they lost the three–match series 1-2, the Women in Blue competed strongly in all three matches, including ending Australia’s 13-match winning streak in the second ODI.

Smriti Mandhana smashed a 12th ODI century in the series decider, equalling the record for most centuries by a woman opener, while Kranti Goud dismissed Australia's skipper Alyssa Healy in all three matches of the series. Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Harleen Deol picked up their form at the right time. Though Jemimah Rodrigues ruled out of the ODI series after the first match due to viral fever, she is expected to recover and give her best in the marquee event.