Merit in showcasing ICC Women's World Cup in smaller cities: Guha

It's about time that the women cricketers get the narrative build-up that their male counterparts do

- Samreen Razzaqui

NEW DELHI: There's a World Cup on the horizon — but it wouldn't be a surprise if you had no idea. The ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 is set to take place in India in a few months' time, yet there's been little to no buzz. With no campaigns, no build-up and no sense of anticipation in a country that is termed 'cricket crazy', the silence is slightly jarring.

While the lack of attention can be deemed as a marketing oversight, it also appears like a missed opportunity to inspire, grow the game and to give women's cricket in India the stage it has earned.

As Isa Guha, former England cricketer and now a leading voice in the game, recently said: "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.'"

"It's something that we learned from the 2009 T20 World Cup in England (they beat New Zealand by six wickets). 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."