2017 World Cup was like a green revolution for women’s cricket in India Exwomen’s team head coach | Exclusive

NEW DELHI: Should Harmanpreet Kaur call time on her captaincy after scripting India’s greatest cricketing triumph? The question has sparked widespread debate since the 36-year-old led India to their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title at a packed DY Patil Stadium.

Former India captain Shantha Rangaswamy has urged Harmanpreet to pass the baton to Smriti Mandhana, suggesting she could flourish even more without the weight of leadership.

However, former India women’s team head coach Tushar Arothe believes Harmanpreet still has plenty left in the tank and can add a couple more ICC trophies as captain — much like Rohit Sharma did.

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With this triumph, Harmanpreet joined the elite list of Indian captains — alongside Kapil Dev (in 1983) and MS Dhoni (in 2011) — to have guided India to ODI World Cup glory.

Dhoni remains the only captain, across men’s and women’s cricket, to have led India to three ICC trophies — the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Rohit is next in line, having led India to two ICC titles — the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Why not? As long as she continues this form and performance, Harmanpreet can certainly lead India to a couple more ICC titles in the future, Arothe told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.

I’m very happy that the Indian women played absolutely brilliant cricket throughout the tournament

Tushar Arothe

Arothe took over as head coach in April 2017, just two months before the ODI World Cup in England. Under his guidance, India reached the final of the marquee tournament but suffered a heartbreaking nine-run defeat to England at Lord’s.

We lost narrowly — by just nine runs — and it still hurts. At one point, we were cruising, but then the wickets started falling and we fell short. It’s something we still remember, but the past is past. We can’t change it; we have to keep looking forward, Arothe said.

I’m very happy that the Indian women played absolutely brilliant cricket throughout the tournament. I would like to congratulate the entire team, the support staff, and of course, the BCCI for winning the ICC World Cup trophy, he added.

Only three players from that 2017 heartbreak — Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, and Smriti Mandhana — were part of the 2025 final, where they finally etched their names in history as India lifted their first-ever Women’s World Cup.

Harman has always been a promising cricketer. I still recall my old days — in 2009, when Harman came into the Indian women’s team for the first time, we went to Australia for the World Cup. She had a pretty good series. We always knew she had immense talent and that she was a match-winner on her day, Arothe said.

We all know she has been a fantastic player for India. She proved it in 2017 with that brilliant knock against Australia in the semifinals. Over time, she has grown as a captain — she started believing in her players, believing in herself — and that’s how she has evolved. She’s doing a fantastic job now, he added.

We came very close to winning the title in 2017. That World Cup was like a green revolution for women’s cricket in India

Tushar Arothe

We came very close to winning the title in 2017. That World Cup was like a green revolution for women’s cricket in India. After that, a lot more girls took up the sport, and parents began believing that women could build a career in cricket. The number of women cricketers increased, and competition grew gradually, the former coach said.

The BCCI has taken great steps since then — from matching the women’s match fees with the men’s, to starting under-15 and under-19 one-day and T20 tournaments. These initiatives have given a huge push to women’s cricket in India. That’s why I said, thank you very much — we really need to appreciate BCCI for all their efforts, he added.

Did beating Australia in the semifinal already assure India of a World Cup title win?

India defeated Australia in a thrilling semifinal by five wickets.

Despite Australia posting a mammoth 338 on the board, India — thanks to an unbeaten 127 off 134 balls from Jemimah Rodrigues and a crucial 89 from captain Harmanpreet Kaur — chased down the record total with ease to book their place in the title clash.

Australia are obviously a tough team to beat in any league or knockout phase. But we can’t forget Jemimah’s knock — it was a fantastic, brilliant innings. Chasing 300 runs is a record, isn’t it? Scoring over 300 and winning against Australia in a one-day game was such an important moment for us. That win made the players believe in themselves, and they carried that confidence into the final. I would say that victory had already sealed the World Cup for us, he said.

And Deepti (Sharma) was outstanding in all departments. She has been a brilliant cricketer all these years. I’ve known her since 2015–16 — a fantastic fielder, a good off-spinner, and a utility batter. At one stage, when I was there, she even opened the innings. She’s a versatile player — a useful bowler, an excellent fielder, and a true team player. She’s extremely talented and always eager to perform in every game, Arothe said.

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