For Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s historic triumph at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 was about far more than lifting a trophy. It represented belief, progress and the growing possibilities for women’s cricket in the country.
“Winning that World Cup was a seminal moment for women’s cricket in India. It was bigger than one trophy. Most importantly, it brought belief and showed young girls that the highest stage is not out of reach,” Kaur wrote in the ICC column.
The victory marked India’s first ICC women’s title and instantly shifted focus towards sustaining success, with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 nears.
“The Women’s World Cup 2025 win gave us a massive boost in confidence. However, it was only the beginning. We want to make winning a habit.
“While the 2025 World Cup win gave us immense joy, it also gave us responsibility. We know expectations will rise, and that brings pressure, of course, but it is a good kind of pressure.
“It tells you that you have earned something important, and now you have to recreate it again.”
India’s preparations for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup have already tested the side in varied conditions.
They clean-swept Sri Lanka at home, followed it with a landmark T20I series win in Australia — their first against them in a decade — before enduring a difficult 4-1 series defeat away to South Africa.
A series against England now awaits as India aim to adapt to the tournament conditions.
“We would like to carry forward the confidence and belief from that win into the T20 World Cup.
“We know the standards we want to maintain, and the recent T20I series against Sri Lanka, Australia, and South Africa have helped us test ourselves and given us plenty of learnings.”
Kaur believes success in the shorter format will demand precision from the very beginning.
“Winning this tournament would mean a great deal. Every ICC trophy has its own challenges. The format is shorter, the margins are smaller, and the pressure is greater.
“We will have to be sharper right from the start, and winning the key moments will be crucial. If we win this tournament, it would signal the beginning of a stronger and more consistent era for Indian women’s cricket,” she added.