That triumph in Navi Mumbai has given the Indian women’s cricket team fresh hope and a new challenge, to set the record straight in the shortest format as well, when the ICC T20 World Cup is held in England in June 2026
Indian players celebrate the wicket of Vishmi Gunarathne in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam. Pic/BCCI
For the triumphant Indian women’s cricket team, achieving one milestone has naturally opened the path to the next. The only thing they need to do is draw motivation and inspiration from their recent maiden triumph rather than rest on their laurels. After a long wait, the women’s team finally laid their hands on the ICC World Cup on the 13th attempt, having come close to the title twice before. They were runners-up in 2005 and 2017, before finally winning an ICC trophy under Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy at the DY Patil Stadium on November 2, 2025.
That triumph in Navi Mumbai has given the team fresh hope and a new challenge, to set the record straight in the shortest format as well, when the ICC T20 World Cup is held in England in June 2026. They have been runners-up once (in 2020) in nine appearances, and the upcoming mega event presents their best opportunity to complete a grand double of ODI and T20 World Cup triumphs, and that too back-to-back.
But for that to happen, the Indian women need to get their focus back on cricket after all the celebrations and felicitations following their recent triumph, because it is very easy to get swayed by off-the-field activities. The good thing is that the team has an excellent, level-headed coach in Amol Muzumdar to guide the players. He will surely ask them to appreciate what has been done, but stay focused on the next challenge. Proof of Muzumdar’s ability to make the girls regroup and refocus quickly came shining through in the manner with which he guided them to a 5-0 T20I series whitewash against Sri Lanka recently.
The Indian team have had many good captains over the years, but it seemed destined that Kaur would spearhead this maiden achievement. Like Kapil Dev, who was the first Indian captain to lead the men’s team to an ICC title in 1983 at Lord’s, Kaur has earned a similar honour by becoming the first skipper to lead the women’s team to an ICC trophy in the 50-over format. And if she can add the T20 World Cup title to that, she will emulate MS Dhoni, who had led the men’s team to victories in both the T20 format in 2007 as well as in the 50-over format in 2011.
However, one must remember that cricket is a team game, and each player deserves equal credit and respect for the achievement. Thus, the type of camaraderie and team spirit that the players showed during the recent World Cup needs to be replicated at the T20 World Cup in England in June.
Obviously, the question on the lips of every Indian cricket fan is whether the women’s team has what it takes to achieve back-to-back ICC World Cup titles within a matter of months, something even the men’s team has not been able to achieve. The positive thing is that they have a well-settled line-up, with players right from skipper Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, down to Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Renuka Thakur, and Amanjot Kaur, having excelled in the 2025 World Cup. Besides, the team performed exceedingly well on their last UK tour in July 2025, when they had won both the ODI and T20I series against England, which should give them a lot of confidence in their bid to record a grand double.
Here’s wishing them all the luck in the New Year!
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No. of Women’s T20I World Cup finals India have entered. They lost to hosts Australia in 2020
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