ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025: Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur Wants To Break India Women's ICC Trophy Drought

With the ICC Women's ODI World Cup just 50 days away, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur sounded an optimistic note stating she and her team are looking to clinch their first-ever ICC title.

Harmanpreet felt the home series against Australia will give them clarity regarding where they stand in the build-up to the quadrennial showpiece that will commence on September 30.

"Playing against Australia is always challenging and we get to know what our standing is. The series (three ODIs vs Australia) will give us a lot of confidence. We have been putting a lot of effort in our training camps and the results are showing," Harmanpreet said, during a panel discussion on the occasion of the '50 Days To Go' event, which also featured fellow team-mates Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues.

Legendary India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and former India women's team skipper Mithali Raj were also part of the event with International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah present at the venue.

The India women's team captain also brought in a tinge of nostalgia with Yuvraj Singh seated in the audience.

"We want to break that barrier which all Indians are waiting for. World Cups are always special, always want to do something special for my country. Whenever I see Yuvi bhaiya (Yuvraj Singh) it gives me a lot of motivation," she added.

The 2017 ICC ODI Women's World Cup was a pivotal moment for Indian women's cricket when the team made it to the final, where they eventually lost to England.

The most memorable knock of that World Cup belonged to skipper Harmanpreet, who struck a magnificent 171 against Australia in the semifinal clash.

"That knock was something really special to me and the entire women's cricket. A lot of things changed for me after that knock. When we came back to India, even though we had lost, a lot of people were waiting and cheering for us. I still get goosebumps," the Moga-born skipper revealed.

Yuvraj, player-of-the-tournament in the 2011 World Cup-winning campaign, felt the self-belief of each player in the team was critical to the team's success at the forthcoming event.

"(I would say) play the situation and not the expectation and be in the moment," he said.

"It's a great opportunity to create history. But that doesn't mean that from the start point you are thinking of winning it. You have to experience the whole enigma of it. You have to feel that you have put in the process and results will come." The multiple World Cup-winner advised the players to keep faith in their experience.

"But if you want to win the World Cup, you will be in pressure, things won't go well and that's when experience and self-belief has to take over. You have to believe that you want to win the game for your country (on) that day," added Yuvraj, India's player of the tournament in the 2011 World Cup.

Jemimah and Mandhana were of the opinion that there is a huge shift in the mindset and approach of the current players when it comes to preparing for a big event like the World Cup.

"A lot has changed with my preparation and mindset. I want to have a lot of confidence coming from my preparation and that gives me clarity," said Jemimah.

"Our whole team is heading into the direction where we know we have to put in a lot of hard work off the field and when we go on it, it's a reaction. That's been a massive change for the team as well as personally," Mandhana added.

Former India women's captain Mithali Raj felt the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup was the turning point.

"The 2017 World Cup actually transformed women's cricket not just in India but globally I would say, because social media was relatively new (and) the ICC did their part in promoting and campaigning on a larger scale," she added.