'Hope that title jinx will be broken this time': BCCI secretary feels India will end long wait to win Women's World Cup trophy in 2025

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia expressed his hope on September 21 that the Indian women's team will finally end their long wait for a World Cup trophy in 2025. The 50-overs showpiece event is set to get underway on September 30 in Guwahati.

BCCI secretary hopeful of India winning Women's World Cup 2025 trophy

India, who are co-hosting the eight-team tournament with Sri Lanka, will face the Sri Lankan team in the opening match, which will be preceded by a grand opening ceremony. India has a significant challenge ahead, as the team has never won the women's World Cup in any of the previous 12 editions.

"In the past, warm-up matches were held for the ICC (Men's) World Cup and for the first time the ICC Women's World Cup will start from Guwahati. The opening match will be played between India and Sri Lanka," Saikia told the media here at the BCCI headquarters.

"As the matches are being held in India as well as in Sri Lanka, everybody is backing our Indian team. Recently, they have done extremely well in England also, which is a big achievement for the Indian team. Indian women's cricket has come of age and I am sure they will produce a remarkable performance in the upcoming World Cup. I hope that the jinx will be broken this time," Saikia added.

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The BCCI secretary also gave his views on the just-concluded ODI series between India and Australia, which the visitors won 2-1 following their 43-run win the the final match on September 21.

"It was a very keenly contested series, which Australia won 2-1. But India played extremely well. Australia is a very good team, but India is catching up. Till now, India has not won any ICC women's trophy, so this is a big opportunity for the team to do well," he further stated.

This year's tournament is a major event, as the Women's World Cup returns to India after 12 years. Eight teams are competing for a record prize money pool, which totals a staggering 13.88 million US Dollars. Australia, the defending champions, will be aiming to secure their record-extending eighth title after defeating England in the 2022 final. Meanwhile, India, who have been runners-up twice, will be hoping to win their first-ever title on home soil.

Harmanpreet Kaur's team will start their campaign against Sri Lanka on September 30, followed by a match against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 5. The Indian team will then face South Africa, Australia, England, New Zealand, and Bangladesh on October 9, 12, 19, 23, and 26, respectively.