In just a few months, India will host the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 — but you’d hardly know it. Unlike the roaring build-up that precedes any men’s event, this World Cup’s arrival has been met with unsettling silence. In a nation that lives and breathes cricket, the lack of anticipation is not just surprising — it’s concerning.
The absence of buzz isn’t just a marketing misstep. It hints at a broader issue: the continued marginalisation of women’s cricket at critical junctures. At a time when visibility and narrative are essential, the failure to launch even basic promotional campaigns feels like a strategic void.
Former England international Isa Guha highlighted how the visibility of women playing at such a stage could ignite the dreams of countless young girls watching. “This is a huge moment in time because they’re going to see all these women playing cricket and go ‘Yes, I feel like I can do this.’”
She drew on England’s experience during the 2009 T20 World Cup, suggesting that India has the chance to convert inspiration into action — if it doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the past.
“Perhaps, the foundations weren’t there to really try and catch that inspiration as much as possible. And I know that India is looking to try and bid for the Olympics down the line and so one of the key elements of making India a sports-forward nation is to really engage most of the female population.”
The WPL has injected energy into the domestic women’s circuit, introducing commercial relevance and widening visibility. However, unlike the franchise format, a World Cup is about national identity and global prestige. This is where broadcasters, sponsors, and stakeholders should be building powerful arcs around the players — arcs that fans can invest in emotionally.
Guha stressed the need for narrative creation in sports broadcasting, particularly for women’s cricket, “Ultimately, broadcast is entertainment. Viewers connect more when you understand more about their stories.”
As the IPL commands national attention, Guha proposed a clever strategy: integrating Women’s World Cup promotion into the IPL broadcast space, “It’s getting great attention right now and it’d be great to get some of the Indian female players to talk about the Women’s World Cup coming up.”
Yet, this crucial momentum is being undercut by the BCCI’s decisions — most notably, its venue selections. Heavyweight cricket cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, and Bengaluru have been excluded, with the board opting instead for Raipur, Guwahati, Indore, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mullanpur.
While taking the game to smaller cities has developmental merit, the absence of any iconic stadiums undermines the scale of the tournament. The final, for instance, will be held in Mullanpur’s Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium — a state-of-the-art facility, yes, but one that has never hosted a women’s international.
Guha acknowledged this trade-off and offered a balanced take on the benefits of decentralization “I would have loved the final to be at Eden Gardens a bit like 1997, when Australia took on New Zealand there in the Women’s World Cup final and there were 90,000 people watching. But I do think there’s merit in being able to showcase the women’s game to different parts of the country.”
One of the most compelling examples of such visibility is Jhulan Goswami’s own journey. The 1997 World Cup final at Eden Gardens wasn’t just a match — it was the moment her dream was born, “In 1997, I was a ball girl at the Eden Gardens where I saw my first women’s World Cup final. From that day, my dream was to represent India,” she recalled. (Quote sourced from PTI)
Despite these powerful stories, the planning around this World Cup feels transactional. Venues appear to have been chosen more to satisfy the BCCI’s rotation policy than with any real intent to amplify the women’s game. Even Thiruvananthapuram — lacking any major women’s cricket legacy — was selected not for fan appeal but because of its immigration facilities, vital if Pakistan’s matches are relocated to neutral venues.
Of all the cities chosen, only Visakhapatnam has recent experience hosting women’s matches, albeit more than a decade ago. Indore’s Holkar Stadium will host for the first time, while the likes of Guwahati and Mullanpur are entering entirely new territory. Visakhapatnam, though, has been given a ceremonial boost — it will host the opening match and the curtain-raising ceremony.
This apparent lack of coherence in planning becomes even more glaring when considering the proven track records of major cities. Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi recently hosted WPL matches with strong attendance and fan engagement — yet these cities have been overlooked. If they weren’t earmarked for the World Cup, what was the point of “testing” them with earlier women’s matches?
This also happens to be India’s first Women’s World Cup without legends Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. A fresh generation is set to take center stage — a golden opportunity to introduce new faces, new heroes, and new stories to millions. Yet rather than launching these players into the limelight, the BCCI’s passive approach risks stifling that transition.
Even as other countries make strategic strides — Pakistan recently hosted the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers at established venues in Lahore — India appears content with bureaucratic checkboxing. With Pakistan now qualified, logistical arrangements for their neutral-venue matches are in place, but the excitement, the anticipation, the buildup — that’s what’s missing.
Isa Guha’s final observation cuts to the core of what this World Cup must achieve — and what it risks failing to, “Hosting the World Cup must mean more than a few televised matches. It must leave behind something lasting.”
And therein lies the challenge. It’s not about simply putting on a tournament. It’s about creating an environment where the energy outlasts the final. Where every girl watching from Raipur, Guwahati, or even a village far from stadium lights feels the call of possibility. That only happens when the vision is bigger than logistics.
The WPL was the ignition. This World Cup could be the fire. But only if India chooses to fuel it.
(Quotes sourced from the Hindustan Times)
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