The Indian men’s team has never done something like this: Ravi Ashwin

Former Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin has lauded the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women’s team for handing the trophy to the former Indian skipper and talismanic Indian batter Mithali Raj during the trophy celebrations.

Notably, Team India secured a 52-run win against the South Africa Women’s team in the ICC ODI Women’s World Cup 2025 grand finale to secure the silverware for the first time in the tournament’s history in Navi Mumbai.

For the unversed, the former Indian greats Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, and Anjum Chopra were present at the venue in Navi Mumbai during the trophy presentation ceremony. Later, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team handed the trophy to the former greats in a heart-warming gesture.

Notably, the Indian women’s team made it to the ICC ODI World Cup finals earlier in 2005 and 2017, but they failed to lift the title against Australia and England, respectively. Nevertheless, they created history when they reached the final for the third time.

"Even yesterday, the Indian team gave the trophy to Mithali Raj. Why did they do that? I actually take my hat off to the Indian women's team for that. The Indian men's team has never done something like this. Sometimes in front of the media, we say things because that's the media trend - that 'this person did this' or 'that person did that'. But I haven't often seen anyone giving true credit to the previous generation. Usually, it becomes about 'my generation's team is good' and 'your generation's team wasn't that great.' I've seen a lot of such discussions," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"This women's team - Anjum Chopra was there, Mithali Raj was there - and by handing them the trophy, they allowed them to see with joy that the seeds they once planted and nurtured are now standing tall as winners today. I found that fascinating, unbelievably good. Because this victory that the Indian women achieved didn't come today. It's the result of 25 years of work, maybe two or even three decades,” he added.

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