Women's cricket has taken centre stage in India, especially after Harmanpreet Kaur's girls won the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025, defeating South Africa in the final. The International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of the sport, announced that this tournament in itself saw 5.2 billion video views, which takes a massive jump from the 1.5 billion garnered in 2024.
It is not just the World Cup that is driving more fans towards the women's game. It is also the presence of the Women's Premier League (WPL). The latter tournament, held every year ahead of the Indian Premier League, has become a marquee franchise tournament in the world of women’s cricket. It draws some of the best players from all countries, and gives Indian viewers the opportunity to see them live in action.
For the players, it also means more exposure to new methods of training and preparation, and as a result, more consistent growth. A survey conducted by YouGov revealed that 80% of people who answered showed some kind of inclination towards the tournament. However, the rise in spectatorship of the WPL has a direct correlation to India's success last year.
55% of the respondents of this survey confirmed that they were keen on following the WPL purely because of India's title win in the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025. The most interesting fact is that with the ICC Women's T20 World Cup slated to be held in England later this year, viewership is expected to increase manifold.
The same survey revealed that 37% of all respondents stated that England Women's victories in the UEFA European Championships (football) and the Rugby World Cup 2025 were the reasons why they were turning to cricket for the first time. Suffice to say, women's cricket is in safe hands, and it is going to remain so for some time!