Sharing a powerful message with young cricketers across the country, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur recalled how she started dreaming of playing for India as a child. The 36-year-old World Cup captain said she dared to dream from the moment she took her father’s bat from his bag and started swinging it, even though it was too heavy for her. Beaming with pride, the skipper was candid as she headed out for a photo shoot with the World Cup trophy, a day after India beat South Africa in the final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
“Never stop dreaming. You never know where your destiny will take you,” she said in a video shared by BCCI.
Her father Harmandar Singh Bhullar—a district judicial officer who played volleyball and basketball—was a pillar of support even though many in Moga questioned his decision let his daughter play cricket.
It was only fitting that Harmandar was at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday to watch his daughter’s script history. In a heartfelt moment, Harmanpreet jumped into her father’s arms after India beat South Africa by 52 runs in the grand final.
Recalling how her father cut one of his old bats so that she could pick it up easily, Harmanpreet said, “One day my dad cut an old bat for me. We were playing with it. Whenever we were watching a match on TV, watching an India game or a World Cup, I thought I needed this opportunity. I didn’t even know about women in cricket then.
“I dreamed when I would wear this blue jersey? So I think it means a lot to me, a young girl who didn’t know about women’s cricket, but I still dream that one day I want to bring this change to our country.
“And I think it all goes to show that you should never stop dreaming. You never know where your destiny will blow you. You never think when it’s going to happen, how it’s going to happen. You just think it’s going to happen.”
“That was my belief that it might be possible. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Harmanpreet scored 260 runs and led the team from the front, staying calm under pressure and making the right decisions on the field more often than not. India’s captain played a key role in their record-breaking victory over a mighty Australian team in the semi-finals. Harmanpreet, who shared a 167-run stand with Jemimah Rodrigues, smashed 89 off 88 deliveries to help India successfully chase down 339 – the highest women’s ODI total.
EVERYONE WAS WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT: HARMANPREET
Eight years ago, playing under Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet smashed 171 to knock Australia out in the semi-finals of World Cup 2017. But India fell short of the ultimate target, losing the grand final to England by just eight runs.
Harmanpreet said the loss in the 2017 World Cup final was a shared heartbreak and reflected how the entire nation was waiting for the team to win the big trophy.
“After the 2017 World Cup, when we came back, we were so heartbroken. We lost the match by 9 runs. We didn’t understand how it happened because that match was also fully under our control,” said Harmanpreet.
“But coming back, the kind of welcome and motivation we got from the Indian fans shows that not just us, the whole country was waiting for women’s cricket to do something special for them. And special for the country.”
“Everyone was waiting for this moment. And I think it was with everyone’s blessings and prayers that we were able to cross that line. I don’t think we played in the stadium alone.
“Everyone, the whole stadium, the people watching us on TV, everyone came together to win it. Because it wasn’t possible alone.”
India were under pressure after losing three matches on the bounce – to South Africa, Australia and England. However, they bounced back strongly, defeating New Zealand in the virtual quarter-final, then knocking out Australia in the semi-final and overcoming the Proteas Women in the grand final.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
November 4, 2025
