"Leading India in World Cup special for me": Harmanpreet Kaur

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 26 (ANI): Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur expressed her excitement ahead of the ICC ODI Women’s World Cup 2025, saying that leading her country in the tournament is a special moment for her.

The skippers of all teams participating in 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 to go before the tournament begins.

The tournament will take place from September 30 to November 2, with India locking horns with Sri Lanka at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati in the tournament opener.

“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,” Harmanpreet Kaur told the media.

Harmanpreet is the ninth-highest scorer in the history of the World Cup, with 876 runs in 26 matches and 22 innings, averaging 51.52, including three centuries and four fifties. Her best score is 171*.

Team India is heading into the World Cup following a 1-2 series loss to Australia at home and has had a poor start to their preparations, suffering a 152-run loss to England during the warm-up clash in Bengaluru on Thursday. Since the last World Cup in 2022, when they faced a group stage exit, India has won 25 out of 38 ODIs played, lost 12 and tied one.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu is eager to leverage the home crowd’s energy and support during the World Cup. She recalled the encouraging atmosphere during the Asia Cup and hopes for a similar experience in the upcoming tournament.

“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,” Chamari Athapaththu said.

Spanning five weeks, the tournament will feature 31 matches across five venues in India and Sri Lanka, culminating on November 2 with the crowning of a new World Cup champion. (ANI)

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