Meet the Women in Blue: Women's World Cup Winners

In a historic moment, India won the Women's Cricket World Cup for the first time yesterday, beating South Africa by 52 runs. For years, the Indian team was always so close but just not close enough to winning the international tournament – now, they stand tall and proudly carry the title of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 Winners.

But who are the women behind the victory? Let's meet the Indian women's cricket squad:

Harmanpreet Kaur

Position: Captain, Batting-Allrounder

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm off break

DOB: 8 March 1989

POB: Moga, Punjab, India

Kaur was born to Harmandar Singh Bhullar, a volleyball and basketball player who now works as a clerk at a judicial court. He once aspired to be a cricketer, acting as Kaur's first coach.

She began playing cricket when she joined the Gian Jyoti School Academy, where she trained under Kamaldeep Singh Sodhi. Her inspiration was former cricketer Virender Sehwag.

Smriti Mandhana

Position: Vice Captain, Opening Batter

Batting: Left-handed

Bowling: Right-arm medium

DOB: 18 July 1996

POB: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Mandhana grew up in a Marwari Hindu household. At the age of two, her family moved to Madhavnagar, in the Sangli district of Maharashtra, where both her father and brother played district-level cricket.

Watching her brother compete in Under-16 tournaments inspired her to compete herself. She was selected for the state's Under-15 team at the age of nine and joined the Under-19 team by 11.

Deepti Sharma

Position: All-rounder

Batting: Left-handed

Bowling: Right-arm break off

DOB: 24 August 1997

POB: Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Sharma grew an interest in cricket when she was merely nine, constantly pestering her father to ask her brother Sumit Sharma to take her to the local cricket grounds to watch the matches.

During a net practice that her brother played in Ekalavya Sports Stadium, she was asked to throw the ball back to the team. She hurled the ball towards the field, directly hitting the stumps from a distance of 50 metres, which caught the attention of Hemlata Kala, the national women's team selector.

Shafali Verma

Position: Opening Batter

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm break off

DOB: 28 January 2004

POB: Rohtak, Haryana

Verma's father, Sanjeev Verma, loved cricket and passed the same love to his daughter. The two would often play cricket and watch matches together, especially those of Sachin Tendulkar.

In 2013, her father decided to enrol her in a cricket academy in Rohtak, but they refused to admit her because she was a girl. Her father asked her to disguise herself as her brother and then enrolled her as a boy into the Shree Ram Narain Crickey Academy.

Even though playing against men proved to be difficult for Verma, she never gave up. Eventually, she was able to join a girls' academy and hone her skills.

Richa Ghosh

Position: Wicketkeeper Batter

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm medium

DOB: 28 September 2003

POB: Siliguri, West Bengal

When Ghosh's father, Manabendra Ghosh, played cricket, she would go to watch his matches before joining the club herself. She honed her skills playing amongst men before Ghosh made her debut in the state's senior women's team at the age of 14.

Amanjot Kaur

Position: Batting-Allrounder

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm medium

DOB: 25 August 2000

POB: Mohali, Punjab

Kaur played many sports as a child - from hockey, football, and handball - before settling on cricket. She began training under Nagesh Gupta at the age of 15, her first step towards becoming a star player.

She was only a bowler until her coach noticed her talent in batting and made her an allrounder.

Shree Charani

Position: Bowler

Batting: Left-handed

Bowling: Slow left-arm orthodox

DOB: 4 August 2004

POB: Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh

Like Amanjot Kaur, Charani also played other sports before she decided to play cricket. Her uncle Kishore Kumar Reddy was her biggest support, and she went on to become the first woman from Kadapa to be selected for the national team.

Pratika Rawal

Position: Opening Batter

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm off break

DOB: 1 September 2000

POB: Siliguri, West Bengal

Rawal began her career in cricket when she was 10, training under coach Sharvan Kumar in Rohtak Road Gymkhana Cricket Academy before she trained under former cricketer Dipti Dhyani and Delhi women's team coach Dishgant Yagnik.

Jemimah Rodrigues

Position: Middle order Batter

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm off break

DOB: 5 September 2000

POB: Mangalore, Karnataka

Rodrigues began playing cricket at the age of four in Bhandap, Mumbai. Her family moved to Bandra West so that she and her brothers had access to better sports facilities. Her father, Ivan Rodrigues, was a junior coach at her school and established a girls' cricket team in her school, giving her a chance to play.

Soon enough, Rodrigues was selected for the state's Under-17 team.

Harleen Deol

Position: Middle order Batter

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm leg break

DOB: 21 June 1998

POB: Chandigarh

At the age of 13, Deol made her cricket debut and began playing for the Himachal Pradesh team, before competing in other national and international tournaments.

Yastika Bhatia - DOB:

Position: Wicketkeeper Batter

Batting: Left-handed

DOB: 1 November 2000

POB: Vadodara, Gujarat

Bhatia joined the Youth Service Centre, Baroda, at the ripe age of eight. Her coach, Santosh Chaugule, recognised her natural talent and honed her skills, making her a pick for the Baroda Under-19 at the age of 11.

Uma Chetry

Position: Wicketkeeper Batter

Batting: Right-handed

DOB: 27 July 2002

POB: Bolalhat, Assam

Chetry hails from a family of humble farmers. Despite their background, her mother encouraged her to pick up the sport when she realised her daughter's interest in the sport. She is the first woman cricketer from Assam and the first cricketer from the Northeast to be added to the national team.

Sneh Rana

Position: Bowling Allrounder

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm off break

DOB: 18 February 1998

POB: Dehradun, Uttarakhand

As a child, Rana would play cricket with the neighbourhood boys and eventually, local coach Kiran Sah recognised her skills and convinced her family to enrol her in the Little Master Cricket Academy at the age of nine.

Radha Yadav

Position: Bowler

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Slow left-arm orthodox

DOB: 21 April 2000

POB: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Much like Rana, Yadav was spotted playing cricket in her housing society by coach Prafful Naik. He noticed her talent and offered to train her for free. Even through financial struggles, she was able to make the ranks and now stands on the global playing field.

Kranti Goud

Position: Bowler

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm medium-fast

DOB: 11 August 2003

POB: Ghuwara, Madhya Pradesh

Hailing from the small village of Ghuwara, Goud's family struggled to make ends meet, yet still pushed her to chase her dreams. She was recognised by coach Rajiv Bilthare when she stepped in to play for a local match that ran short of players. Even without proper shoes, Goud played like a champ and earned herself a spot at SAI Academy.

Arundhati Reddy

Position: Bowler

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm medium-fast

DOB: 4 October 1997

POB: Hyderabad, Telangana

At the age of 12, Reddy's family enrolled her into a cricket academy where Hyderabad head coach Savita Nirala and Railways head coach and former India offspinner Nooshin Al Khadeer trained her into a seam-bowling allrounder, allowing her to make her Under-19 debut for the city at only 15.

Renuka Singh Thakur

Position: Bowler

Batting: Right-handed

Bowling: Right-arm medium-fast

DOB: 2 January 1996

POB: Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

Thakur's father was a huge cricket fan. After his passing, she decided to honour his memory by pursuing the sport he loved at the ripe age of three. Despite their struggles, both her mother and brother supported her dreams, and soon, Singh began playing for the state team.

This article is written by K. Tejasree, an intern