Harmanpreet Kaur’s World Cup Triumph Silences Punam Raut’s…

[Interview with Ex-Cricketer Punam Raut: Triumph and Tears Over Harmanpreet Kaur’s Historic Win]

On November 3, 2025, the Indian Women’s Cricket team, led by Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, celebrated their victory in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup final against South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Kaur posed with the trophy, her arm wrapped lovingly around it, signifying that it indeed belonged to them. However, it was the message on the back of her t-shirt – “Cricket is a gentleman’s EVERYONE’s game” – that was the talk of the day. This unforgiving underline of the word “gentleman’s”, was nothing short of revolutionary, marking the moment when India won their maiden World Cup title, setting right their loss to England in the 2017 final.

The once tormented Punam Raut, who was part of the 2017 team and played a stunning innings of 86 runs off 115 balls in the finals, remembers how they once endured taunts of “What have you ever achieved? Have you ever won anything? What can girls even do? Can girls even play cricket?”. But fast-forward to 2025, and only three players from the 2017 team – Kaur, Deepti Sharma, and Smriti Mandhana – took part in the 2025 final match and made history as India lifted their first-ever Women’s World Cup.

Punam Raut couldn’t hold back tears, as she recalled the journey from being publicly mocked to achieving something so big. She affirmed Kaur’s messaging, endorsing it as a battle cry for all those girls whose parents restrict them from pursuing sports such as cricket. Punam shared, “I am very happy and emotional. It was all about changing the mindset, showing the world that girls can play cricket too.”

Furthermore, she passionately spoke about Shafali Verma, a late entry into the team, who displayed an astounding all-round performance by scoring 87 runs and taking 2 wickets in the final match. These efforts saw her named the Player of the Match. Praising Verma, Raut said, “She showed so much maturity at such a young age, to walk into such big games, to play directly in a World Cup semi-final is just incredible.”

Raut also mentioned the unity within the “Class of ’25” team, with Harmanpreet Kaur, more than a leader, stepping up as an elder sister throughout the tournament, guiding and encouraging youngsters. Punam credited this unity as one of the critical factors for their victory.

Concluding the interview, Raut stated that this confidence came not just from the victory but also from the exposure they got through the Women’s Premier League (WPL), sharing the stage with Australians and other international legends which propelled their confidence levels.