Women’s cricket has grown by leaps and bounds, and Pakistan must invest in its women’s team if it wants to compete with the rest of the teams.
Women’s cricket has been ruled by Australia and England since its inception. Other teams tried to compete with them but always fell short because of the sheer talent both these teams possess, especially Australia.
Of the 13 ODI World Cups, Australia and England have won 11, with Australia alone claiming 7 titles. New Zealand won its only title in the 2000 edition.
Out of the 9 T20 World Cups, Australia and England have won 7 combined, with one each for West Indies and New Zealand.
In the last few years, several teams have given these two teams a tough time, especially the cricketing giants India. South Africa and New Zealand have also developed strong teams and have been impressive in recent editions of the ODI and T20I World Cups.
The BCCI has invested heavily in women’s cricket, as evidenced by the launch of the Women Premier League (WPL), which is similar to the Indian Premier League (IPL. Top players from around the world get a chance to showcase their talent in this league, and it allows the Indian team to find new talent, since every team is required to field 7 local players in the playing XI.
And they also get to learn a lot from the top players from Australia and England by playing alongside them. And all these efforts have borne fruit, and India won its maiden ODI World Cup by defeating South Africa.
Australia and England both lost in the semi-finals, and their 25-year reign at this event ended. India pulled off the highest chase in Women’s ODI history in the semi-final against Australia, and it made headlines all around the world.
The most astonishing thing to witness was the record-breaking crowd for the whole event. It shows that people have started to enjoy watching women’s cricket. The same thing happened in the 2022 Women’s T20I World Cup final, when a record-breaking crowd of 86,314 turned out. With fans taking an interest in women’s cricket and stadiums filling up, it is bound to reach new heights in the near future.
Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur didn’t shy away from expressing her love for the game and what this victory meant to her and women in general. She posted her picture in a favorite pose, which is followed worldwide in different sports, where the captain is seen sleeping in their bed with the trophy.
Harmanpreet shared a picture on Instagram in which she was seen sleeping with the trophy. The most eye-catching thing about this picture was the shirt she was wearing.
At the back of the shirt, she had a message to the whole cricketing world. It read, “Cricket is a gentleman’s everyone’s game.” The message was loud and clear: cricket belongs to men and women alike, and it is time the whole world recognized that.
It also sends a clear message to all other women’s teams: if they work hard and play good cricket, they may also open new avenues and reach new heights
New Zealand’s win in the 2024 T20 World Cup and India’s win in the 2025 ODI World Cup have shown that Australia and England are not invincible, and that if opposition teams play good cricket, they can be beaten.
Pakistan also gave both teams a scare in the recently concluded ODI World Cup. They had Australia 115 for 8 before Mooney played a blinder to take Australia to a competitive total, which proved too many for Pakistan.
They played a great match against England too, restricting them to 133. They were on course to win the match with 34 runs on board in 6 overs, before rain arrived and the match got washed out. The Pakistani team couldn’t achieve the desired results in these matches, but they should take confidence from them.
PCB must also invest in women’s cricket at the grassroots level, especially at the college and university level. The selection should be on merit, and players should be awarded handsome contracts. If the PCB invests in women’s cricket the same way it has invested in men’s cricket, it will definitely produce results, and the women’s team will make the whole nation proud.
Also read: Women’s World Cup: India win against South Africa
