“WPL has played a very significant role” - Mithali Raj reveals the main reason behind India winning the World Cup

Former Indian captain Mithali Raj has praised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for its efforts to conduct the Women’s Premier League, which helped the Indian team to unearth a lot of raw talent.

Interestingly, talented players like Kranti Goud and Sree Charani emerged from the Women’s Premier League. The talented duo played a crucial role in the recently concluded ICC ODI Women’s World Cup 2025. 

"I think hugely. The WPL has played a very significant role in unearthing talents like these youngsters -Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani - who are products of the tournament," Mithali Raj told NDTV.

"They got picked through the WPL. After playing in the league, these girls gained the belief to turn things around in crunch moments. That's because they were exposed to those experiences during these franchise leagues. Every time there's a tight game in these leagues, they're able to get themselves out of it, they're able to compose their nerves,” he added.

"I think those experiences have really helped them get through this tournament. There were many moments where India pulled themselves out of crunch situations. We saw individual brilliance throughout the tournament,” he noted.

While India secured a stunning win over Australia in the second semi-final to advance to the grand finale, they bagged a 52-run win over South Africa in the final to clinch their maiden silverware in World Cup history.

"Every match had a new player of the match. That itself reflects that all these players had the platform of a WPL game. In the franchise league, they were able to play with the Australians, understand their mindset, and learn their plans," Mithali observed.

"Because when you play together, you exchange strategies and plans. So that, in a way, also helped. And the pay parity brought in by Jay Shah, the secretary of BCCI-he's the one who launched the WPL, commercialised it, and secured media rights,” she concluded.

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